Persona 4: Golden: A Female's Perspective (Critiques Wanted)
by Immortal Thunder
Summary: This is the perspective of a fake female protagonist of Persona 4: Golden. There'll be a few changes to the story. Please enjoy it and feel free to critique my writing at any time.
1. The Velvet Room

I sat in a limousine that was driving through a thick fog. Everything was covered in blue. In front of me, sat a balding old man with a very long nose. He reminded me of Pinocchio. A small blue table was in front of him. Next to him sat a woman with long white hair and golden eyes. She wore a blue dress.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," the old man said with an eerie smile. "Ah… It seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny," he said, chuckling. "My name is Igor…. I am delighted to make your acquaintance.

"This pace exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then... why don't you introduce yourself?"

"I-I'm Misaki Ishida," I said.

"Hm…. I see," he replied. "Now, let's take a look into your future, shall we?"

He put his hand over the center of the table and cards appeared.

"Do you believe in fortune-telling?" he asked. He waved his hand and the cards spread out, facing down. Six on the edge of the table and one in the middle. "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different." He chuckled. "Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?" He gestured with his hand and the card on the bottom right corner flipped over. It looked like a tower being struck by lightning. "Hm... The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent." What? That's bad.

"The card indicating the future beyond that is…." He gestured again and the card on the bottom left corner flipped over. It was a crescent moon. "The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents 'hesitation' and 'mystery'…. Very interesting indeed.

"It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you," he continued.

_ Oh great,_ I thought sarcastically,_ Just what I needed. More trouble._

"In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny…. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost." Why is he telling me all this? He's adding to my stress and anxiety….

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen," he said. _How is he going to help me…?_ I wondered. He waved his hand over the table and the cards disappeared.

"Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you," Igor exclaimed. He gestured to the woman. "This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself," he explained.

"My name is Margaret. I am here to accompany you through your journey," she said.

"We shall attend to the details another time," Igor said. "Until then, farewell." Everything faded into black.


	2. First Day in Inaba

**Monday, 4/11 (Daytime)**

A girl dressed in a bikini was advertising something on T.V. I stepped onto the train, thinking about the day the teacher told the class I was going to leave. I sighed. I'm gonna miss my old school….

All of a sudden, a vision of an old man with a long nose and a woman dressed in blue hit me. It disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

I checked my phone. The text said, "Meet me at the station by 4:00."

Soon, I heard the warning that we would arrive at my destination soon, so I grabbed my bag and walked out.

"Hey! Over here!" a man in a broadcloth shirt called. He had short, black hair. He wore a red tie and black pants. Behind him hid a girl who wore a pink shirt and a dark skirt. She had pigtails on both sides. "Well, you're prettier in person than in your photo," he said. I blushed and said, "Thanks."

"Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you," he introduced. "Let's see…. I'm your mother's younger brother, and that about sums it up."

"It's nice to meet you," I replied with a smile.

"You probably don't remember, but we've met. I've changed your diapers before, you know?" he laughed. I smiled shyly, not knowing what to say. He brought out the girl behind him.

"This here's my daughter," he said. He looked down at the girl. "Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin." She looked down shyly.

"Hello," she said briefly as she walked to her hiding spot. Dojima chuckled.

"What're you so shy for?" he asked, a smile lighting up his face. Nanako slapped him. I tried not to laugh.

"Ow," he said, laughing. She glared at him.

Well then…. Let's get going," he said. "My car's over there." He walked over to his car as a girl bumped into me.

"….Hey," she said. She had black, shiny hair. She wore a short-sleeved broadcloth shirt and a red skirt. She sported a black tie and a red collar. Her black-and-white-striped socks were up to her thighs. She bent to pick up something.

"You dropped this," she said.

_ She looks like a mean person…._ I thought.

"Thanks," I said, reaching for it.

"Whatever. All I did was pick it up," she replied. I read the paper. It's the note I made for myself with Dojima's address. She turned around and left.

"What's wrong," Dojima called.

"Uh… nothing!" I called back as I went over to the car.

Dojima stopped by the gas station.

"Hi! Welcome to Moel!" a gas station attendant greeted. He had his white hair down to shoulder length. Dojima looked at Nanako.

"Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?" he asked. Nanako nodded. Dojima got out of the car and talked to the gas station attendant as Nanako walked towards the bathroom.

"It's in the back, to your left," the attendant called. "You know which way's left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in."

"I know…. Jeez…." Nanako muttered, annoyed. I decided to get out as well. I stretched my arms and legs as my uncle and the attendant talked. Dojima walked away after they were done.

"Are you in high school?" he asked me. I nodded. "Does it surprise a city girl to see how little is out here?"

"Uh…." I began.

"There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs," the attendant said. "Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now." He walked toward me. "Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student," he continued. He held out his hand and I shook it.

"Oh, I should get back to work," he muttered, walking off. I saw Nanako looking at me.

I saw a white flash and my head started throbbing. I put my hand to my temple and massaged it.

"…Are you okay?" Nanako asked worriedly. "Did you get carsick? You don't look too good…." Well… I do feel a bit dizzy…. Dojima walked over and studied me.

"What's wrong? You okay?" he asked.

"I-I'm alright…." I answered weakly. Talking was never my strong point….

"It must've been a long trip for you," he said. "Why not take a little walk, get some fresh air?" he suggested. "Just let me know when you're ready to go."_ That rhymes,_ I thought, trying to hide my smile.

"Okay…. Thanks," I replied, glad I could actually explore this town a bit.

"The shopping district is near the house, so you should get to know where all the stores are," Dojima explained. I nodded and turned around. I spotted the mean-looking girl from before.

_ Should I talk to her…?_ I thought._ No I shouldn't. I'll just screw it up._

I walked to a green store. The sign said, "Yomenaido Bookstore". There were stands holding books outside of it. I glanced inside. It's fairly empty in there.

Then I went to the store next to it. It looked like some kind of antique shop. The sign said, "Daidara Metalworks". I glanced inside and saw a fierce-looking man pounding on something in the back of the store. I decided not to enter.

The store next to that was a store called Marukyu Tofu. An old woman was tending the store.

I walked down further and heard a girl and boy arguing.

"…it wasn't leftovers! I was making sure to save it for later!" the boy shouted, glaring at the girl.

"Oh, really? Sorry 'bout that," the girl said. I walked past them and stood in front of the… "Shiroku Store". A whole bunch of products lined the shelves. A friendly-looking old lady sat behind the counter.

After exploring the area a bit, I decided to go back to the car.

We arrived at the house. I'll be staying here for the next year….

The house was small and cozy. There was a small kitchen next to the front door and a dining table of in front of it. Further in was a coffee table with huge pillows on the floor on each of the sides. To the left of it, against the wall, was a couch. In the right corner sat a small television.

**(Evening)**

The three of us sat at the small coffee table.

"All right, let's have a toast," Dojima announced. We raise our glasses, then downed our drinks.

"So, your mom and dad are busy as always…. They're working overseas, was it?" Dojima said. "I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents… It's rough being a kid.

"Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having some like you around. So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home."

"Thank you…." I muttered. Dojima chuckled.

"C'mon, there's no need to be so formal," he laughed. "Look, you're making Nanako all tense." He glanced at Nanako. She quickly looked down.

"Well, anyway…. Let's eat," Dojima said hastily. I nodded. I picked up my chopsticks as a phone started ringing.

"Ugh…. Who's calling at this hour?" he muttered. He picked it up.

"Dojima speaking."

[….]

He stood up. "Yeah?"

[…...]

"I see…. So where is it?"

[…..]

"All right, I'm on my way," he finally said. "Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze," he muttered as he closed the flip-phone. "Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me," he told us. "I don't know how late I'll be. Nanako, you help him out, okay?" Nanako nodded slowly. Dojima went outside.

"Nanako, it's raining out," Dojima called. "What did you do with the laundry!?"

"I already brought it in!" Nanako replied loudly.

"Alright. Well, I'm off!" he called back. He drove off.

Nanako turned on the T.V. They're announcing the weather.

"Let's eat," Nanako said shyly. I nodded and started eating._ What should I say to her?_ I thought.

"What does your dad do?" I asked.

"He investigates stuff. Like crimes scenes," Nanako answered. "My dad's a detective."

"Cool!" I said, giving her a big smile. She smiled briefly and looked at the T.V.

The announcer was talking about this guy named Taro Namatame who was fired for being in a relationship with a female reporter.

"This is boring," Nanako commented. I guess it's boring for a little girl who doesn't understand this kind of stuff. She switched the channel. It showed a commercial.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Com see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!" a woman announced. " Every day's great at your Junes! "

" Every day's great at your Junes! " Nanako sang. She looked at me.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked.

"R-right!" I stammered, laughing. We finished eating our dinner.

Pooped, I headed upstairs to the room I'm borrowing from my uncle. I shuffled to the futon and flopped on it. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I found myself kneeling on the floor. I slowly stood up and looked at my surroundings. The floor was made of red blocks and there were cracks between them. Fog enveloped everything, so the only thing I can see is the floor. I turned back and walked a few steps before hitting some kind of invisible wall. I guess I can only go forward….

So I walked straight. The pathway went diagonal from there and the blocks were scattered around randomly, so there were more cracks to watch out for. Carefully, I continued forward. After a few minutes of walking, I heard a voice I couldn't make out.

"Do you seek the truth?" it asked. I kept walking. "If it is truth you desire, come and find me…" it said. I started jogging forward for some reason. After a few minutes, I found myself in front of a square wall thing. It had a large black square in the center and a red square in the middle of that. I touched it and it twisted around and opened.

"So… you are the one chasing me…" a figure in front of me said. "Try all you like," it chuckled. I felt something in my hand. I glanced down and saw a sword in it. It seems I have to fight….

I ran forward and swung at the figure. I felt contact and backed away.

"Hmmm…. It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog," it mused. I swung at it again. "I see…. Indeed that is very interesting information…." I kept attacking it. "But you will not catch me so easily. If what you seek is 'truth', then your search will be even harder…."

The figure did something and the fog thickened. I didn't know that was possible! Now I can barely see my hand in front of my face. I tried to attack it and missed.

"Everyone sees what they want to, and the fog only deepens," the figure said. What is it talking about? "Will we meet again…?" it mused. "At a place other than here…?" it chuckled. "I look forward to it."

I began to lose consciousness. Everything went black.


	3. Starting Class

**Tuesday, 4/12 (Early Morning)**

"Breakfast is ready!" someone called._ Ugh…. I don't wanna get up..._ I slowly pushed myself up and groaned. I felt like I had a nightmare…. What was that about…? All of a sudden I remembered I had to go to school today, so I forced myself to get up. I got ready and went downstairs groggily.

"Good morning," Nanako greeted. I glanced down at my skirt and sighed. I hate wearing these….

We sat at the dining table. There was toast and some sunny-side-up eggs all ready.

"Okay," Nanako said, "let's eat."

"Do you do the cooking?" I asked, biting into my toast.

"I can toast bread and cook sunny-side-up eggs in the morning," she replied.

_ She's so responsible!_ I thought, amazed.

"Dad can't cook, so I buy dinner," she continued. "You're starting school today, right? My school's on the way, so… let's go together." I smiled and nodded.

"Sure thing, Nanako-chan," I said happily. We finished our breakfast and went to school.

We entered the flood plain and stopped.

"You keep going straight from here," Nanako told me. "My school's this way. Bye!" She walked back.

I walked to the intersection in front of the school as a student on a bike wobbled past me. He crashed somewhere ahead of me.

The boy had light brown hair down past his ears. He was bent over. It seems he's putting his hand over… uh… a place._ Ouch…._

"You okay?" I asked, moving closer to him.

"Y-yeah…. I'm…. fine...," he groaned. I watched him for a second, not knowing what to say.

"W-well… see you at school…," I said awkwardly as I headed to school.

I arrived at the main gates of Yasogami High School. I wonder what kind of student life I would have here. I went in.

I made my way up the stairs. _This place looks pretty cool,_ I thought. The floor was made of wood and it has that… cozy feeling to it.

I got lost but finally made my way to the classroom. Before I reached the door, a short man wearing a blue outfit stopped me. He was bent over in a 45-degree angle. He looked like an evil villain.

"You the transfer student?" he asked rudely. I nodded nervously. "Go in behind me. I need to introduce you to the class." I nodded again. He went in and I followed him.

"Awright, shut your traps!" he yelled. "I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first! Just 'cause it's spring, doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons! Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow! Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student.

"This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And she's just as much of a loser here as she was there, so you boys better not get any ideas of hitting on her!"

_Who the hell does he think he is?_ I thought angrily, clenching my fists as I tried to restrain myself from punching him in the stomach.

"Tell'em your name, kid, and make it quick," Morooka ordered.

"… You calling me a loser…?" I muttered angrily before I caught myself. Everyone stared at me with shocked faces. Morooka glared at me. I blushed and looked at my feet.

"That's it, you're on my s*** list, effective immediately," he said. "Now listen up! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and ass****s, in more ways than one. You better not even think of getting involved with the guys here, let alone abusing them!" Why would I do such a thing!? This… "teacher" is really getting me pissed off.

"But what do I know? It's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast…," he continued. I tuned him out, trying to get my anger under control. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists.

_ Don't punch him, don't punch him, don't punch him…,_ I thought, fidgeting.

"Excuse me!" a girl with short, brown hair called. She wore a bright green jacket. "Is it okay if the transfer student sits here?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure." Morooka turned to me. "Ya hear that? You're seat's over there. So hurry up and siddown already!"

I quickly went to my seat (which is the third row, middle column, on the left) and sat down. I'm usually afraid of teachers like him, but right now, I really want to beat the crap out of him!

"He's the worst, huh?" the girl next to me whispered. She was the one that asked Morooka to let me sit here. "Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class…. Well, we just have to hang in there for a year." I nodded. The students started gossiping around me. I heard the students talk about me being in this class and Morooka. Then he shut us up.

I sighed._ What a year this is gonna be…,_ I thought.

**(After School)**

Class finally ended. All of a sudden, the school intercom announced something.

"Attention, all teachers," the woman said. "Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

Morooka said something, but I ignored him. Then I heard sirens from somewhere close by. This isn't good…. All the students started gossiping.

A boy walked over to the girl in front of me to the right. She had fairly long, black hair and sported a red head band. Her bangs fell right above her eyebrows. She wore a bright red sweater.

"Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?" the boy asked.

"I can't discuss such things," the girl replied, looking down.

"Y-yeah, I guess not," he said. He walked back to his friends. The girl next to me stood up and went to the red-wearing girl. She sighed.

"Sheesh, how much longer is this gonna take?" she asked, rubbing her head.

"There's no telling," the girl wearing red replied.

"I shoulda left before the announcement came on," the green-wearing girl muttered. "By the way, did you try what I told you the other day?" The red girl looked confused. "You know… that thing about rainy nights…."

"Oh… no, not yet. Sorry," the red girl answered apologetically.

"That's okay," the green girl said. "It's just, I heard a guy in the class next door yell something like, 'My soul mate is Yamano, the announcer!'"

"Attention, all students," the school intercom said. "There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone."_ What happened?_ The intercom said other stuff but I ignored it.

I stood up, as the girl wearing green and the girl wearing red came up to me.

"Hey, are you going home by yourself?" Green Girl asked. I nodded. "Why don't you come with us? Oh I nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka. You know I sit next to you, right?"

"Of course!" I said with a small smile.

"Well, nice to meet you!" she turned to the red girl. "This is Yukiko Amagi," she introduced.

"Oh, nice to meet you," the red girl said. "I'm so sorry that this is so sudden."

"C'mon, don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing," Chie protested. "I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all." We were about to leave when the bicycle guy stopped us.

"Uh, umm, Miss Satonaka?" he stammered. "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see…. And…. I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!" he said as he bowed and shoved something towards Chie. He straightened. "See ya! Thanks!" he yelled as he ran off.

"Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD!?" Chie yelled as she ran after him. I heard a loud thud and winced. "What the!? I can't believe this! It's completely cracked!" she cried. "My "Trial of the Dragon…."

"I-I think mine's cracked too…. C-critical hit to the nads," the boy groaned.

"A-are you all right?" Yukiko asked.

"Oh, Yukiko-san…. Are you worried about me?" the boy asked painfully.

"He's fine, Yukiko," Chie snapped. "Let's ditch him and go home." The girls walked out. I looked at the boy.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I-I think I'm fine," he muttered.

"Well… uh…. See ya," I said as I left.

_Girls can be so cruel...,_ I thought.

I caught up to Chie and Yukiko. There was a strange student talking to Yukiko. He was from a different school, judging from his uniform. His black hair was messy and his eyes… looked like they were dead. Empty.

"You're Yuki, right?" he asked, "Y-you want to go hang out somewhere?"

"What…?" Yukiko replied. "Wh-who are you?" I heard some students talking about the strange guy.

"Um, so, are you coming or not?" the strange boy demanded.

"I-I'm not going," Yukiko replied quietly.

"Fine!" the boy yelled as he ran off.

"Wh-what did he want from me?" Yukiko muttered.

"'What did he want?' Obviously, he was asking you out on a date," Chie explained impatiently.

_ Yukiko doesn't know anything about this stuff, huh?_ I thought, smiling to myself.

"Huh? Really?" she exclaimed. I wanted to face palm.

"You really had no clue? Sheesh…," Chie muttered. "But then again, that was way over the top. It was creepy how he called you Yuki all of a sudden." I agreed. The guy that got kicked in the balls came up to us with his bike.

"Yo, Yukiko-san," he greeted. "Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh? Man, you're cruel. You got me the same way last year.'

"I don't recall doing that," she replied.

"Whoa, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime?" he asked. I could tell he was desperate for a girlfriend. I sighed.

"I'd rather not," Yukiko said.

"That'll teach me to get my hopes up," the boy muttered. "Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer student too much." He cycled away.

"We're just curious is all!" Chie yelled. Yukiko turned to me.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this," she apologized.

"It's alright," I replied. More people started to crowd around us.

"C'mon, let's go. Everyone's staring," Chie whispered. She briskly walked away. Yukiko and I followed her.

As we walked home, Chie shot a barrage of questions at me. I tried my best to answer them all.

"Ah… so you came here because of your parents' job," Chie said and chuckled. "I thought it was something way more serious." I shrugged, not knowing what to say.

Chie looked around.

"There really is nothing here, huh?" she observed. I shrugged again. "That's what makes it nice, but there is nothing much we can show to people from outside.

"Though there is something from Mt. Yasogami… I think our dyed clothes or pottery or something is kinda famous. Oh wait! And there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!" Chie announced proudly, as if she owned it.

"It's… just an old inn," Yukiko said modestly.

"No way! It's been in all sorts of magazines as a hidden treasure!" Chie argued. She turned to me with a bright smile. "It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday!" Man… from the way she said it, you'd think she's Yukiko's mom….

"Their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going," Chie continued. I raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" I said, looking at Yukiko. "Wow…" She blushed.

"I don't think that's entirely true," she said hesitantly.

"If you were a guy, you'd think Yukiko's cute, right?" Chie asked out of the blue.

"Wh-what? Where did that come from?" I stammered.

"C'mon! Would you think she's cute or not?" she persisted. I sighed.

"I guess," I muttered. She laughed.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. Yukiko looked down.

"Come on…," she protested. "Don't start this again…."

"She's really popular at school, but she's never had a boyfriend," Chie continued, ignoring Yukiko's protests. "Kinda weird, huh?"

"C-come on, stop it," Yukiko said, blushing. "Y-you shouldn't believe that, okay? It's not true that I'm popular or that I've never had a boyfriend!" She stopped for a second and waved her hand in front of her quickly. "Wait, n-n-no! What I meant to say was, I-I don't need a boyfriend!" she protested frantically. She glanced at her friend. "Geez… Chie!" Chie laughed.

"Sorry! I'm sorry. But this is our chance to talk to someone from the big city, and you barely said a word!" she said. Then she looked ahead, her smile fading. "Hey, what's that?"

We walked towards the commotion. Some housewives were talking about something. It seems there was a dead body hanging from an antenna, but the police took it down before we got there.

"Wait…. What did she say? A dead body!?" Chie exclaimed. I felt the adrenaline pumping through me. What's going on?

Dojima walked over to us.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" he inquired.

"D-did anything happen?" I asked nervously. He remained silent for a while.

"Well… you could say that," he finally replied, sighing. "That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here," Dojima muttered to himself. Chie turned to me.

"You know this guy?" she asked. I nodded. Dojima heard us and introduced himself. Then he ordered us to go straight home as another man ran past us. He went off into the bushes and puked.

"Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie?" Dojima scolded. "You want to be sent back to the central office?"

"I-I'm sorry…," the young detective groaned. Dojima sighed and told the detective to gather information. The detective ran off after Dojima as he left.

"Was this what that announcement was about?" Chie pondered.

"What do they mean 'it was hanging from the antenna'?" Yukiko muttered, looking worried. Chie turned to Yukiko and canceled their plans to go to Junes, wherever that was. Yukiko nodded. Chie smiled at me.

"Alright then! We're taking off. Starting tomorrow, neighbor, let's do our best!" Chie said. "Neighbor"? Oh. I guess I am her neighbor, since I sit next to her in class.

"Yeah. See ya!" I said as they left. I decided to go explore the town a bit. I went to the north side of the shopping district.

There was a restaurant called Chinese Diner Aiya, the restaurant closest to the south side. Next to it was a shop called Souzai Daigaku. It had a bunch of appetizing dishes out on display, but the owner was not there._ Huh._

The one next to that was the… "Maruake Hobby Shop". The shutters are closed here. Across from that was Tatsuhime Shrine. Next to it was Tatsumi Textiles. And next to that was a barber shop. Across the street was Konishi Liquors.

After exploring the shopping district, I decided to go to the flood plain. As I was walking around, I realized that there were a bunch of police on patrol, which made me nervous.

I climbed down the stairs to the riverbank. After walking around a bit, I realized it was late, so I went home.

**(Evening)**

I sat down with Nanako at the table in front of the T.V.

"I wonder if Dad's not coming home again tonight…," she muttered. The news talked about a woman being found dead here. The School Zone is being shown on T.V._ Is this… the incident that I heard about? About the dead body hanging from the antenna?_

The dead person was identified as Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year-old announcer. They said that the results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed other things that I didn't pay attention to.

"The Inaba Police Department! That's where Dad works!" Nanako exclaimed. She looked worried.

"It'll be all right," I assured her.

"I know. That's his job, so this stuff happens," Nanako said, though she still looked worried.

"The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof," the announcer said. "Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide…." The news continues as I think about the situation. I don't know if I'm going to be safe here anymore….

"They found her on the roof? That's scary," Nanako said. She looked up and gasped. "Oh! It's Junes!"

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!" the woman announced happily. "Every day's great at your Junes!" she sang.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako repeated. She looked at me.

"Every day's great at your Junes," I sang. She looked surprised.

"You memorized it already? I'm the best in my class!" Nanako boasted. I smiled.

"That's great!" I said._ Did they have a competition or something?_ She sang the song to herself repeatedly. It looks like she forgot about the creepy story._ That's good. A little girl shouldn't worry about things like that,_ I thought. I stood up and went to my room and slept.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please critique my writing if you see any mistakes or something.****  
**


	4. The Midnight Channel

**Wednesday, 4/13 (Early Morning)**

Boom! Clatter! The boy from yesterday (the one riding the bike) crashed into a trash can. In front of me.

"S-someone…" he muttered. I jogged over and helped him out. As I was pulling the trash can from his upper body, a short boy snickered. I glanced at him quickly. He had short black hair and he looked younger than me. He walked away with a small smile on his face. I turned my attention back to the bicycle guy. After a few seconds of grunting and pulling, I finally freed him.

"Whew! You saved me. Thanks! Umm…," he said. "Oh yeah, that's right. You're that transfer student Misaki Ishida." He blushed when he realized that I was the one who saved him. "I'm Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meet you." I looked at him with worry.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Say, did you hear about the incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna!"

"Yeah… it was really weird," I replied.

"You think it was some kinda warning? There's no way something that weird could've been an accident," he said.

"Yeah… you might be right," I replied.

"Dangling a dead body over a roof like that… that's just messed up," he said. I nodded in agreement. "Then again," he continued, "it's pretty messed up to kill someone in the first place." I nodded again. He glanced down at his watch.

"Oh crap, we're late!" he yelled. "You wanna ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine."

"Uh…." I muttered. "I think I'll walk."

**(In Class, Morning)**

King Moron (Mr. Morooka) lectured us about stuff. I listened to it reluctantly, only because it might be on the test.

**(After School)**

"So, you getting used to this place?" Yosuke inquired.

"Yeah, a little bit," I answered.

"Wow, that was fast," he replied. "There isn't much to do here compared to the big city, but there is that certain… something you can't get anywhere else. The air's clean, the food's great…." I nodded in agreement. He's right about that. "Oh you know about the local delicacy? It's grilled steak, man! Like that's anything special, huh?"

"I like steak," I said with a small smile.

"Really? You remind me of Chie," he laughed. "I know a place where you can get it cheap. Wanna come? You helped me out this morning, so it's on me."

"You sure?" I asked. He blushed.

"Y-yeah," he said. Chie walked up.

"What about me, huh? No apologies?" she demanded. "My 'Trial of the Dragon'." Yosuke sighed.

"You always come around when I'm talking about food…," Yosuke muttered. Chie looked at Yukiko.

"How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us, too?" she asked.

"I'll pass. I don't want to gain any more weight," she replied. "I need to help out at the inn today, anyway."

_She must be busy all the time, then,_ I thought.

"Wow, Yukiko-san! You started training to take over the business?" Yosuke asked.

"It's not like that!" Yukiko protested. "I'm just helping out when it gets busy. Well I should be on my way." She walked away quickly.

"Oh well," Chie said. "We should get going too."

"Do I seriously have to treat two people?" Yosuke sighed.

"You don't have to treat me if you don't want to," I said.

"Nah… it's okay…," he muttered. We went to the Junes food court.

Yosuke came back with the food. Chie looked exasperated.

"_This_ is the cheap place you were talking about?" Chie demanded. "They don't have grilled steak here!"

"Yeah, well, once you hopped on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans," Yosuke replied.

"Still, that's no reason to take us to your place," she replied angrily._ "Your place"?_

"Dude, this isn't my place or anything," he said. He turned to me. "Oh, right. I haven't told you yet, huh? I moved here from another city about six months back. This location just opened up, and my dad was assigned to manage it. So our entire family came out here." He picked up his drink. "Here. This is to welcome you to town." I reached over and grabbed my drink. "Satonaka, yours is on me, too."

"Yeah, I know," she said, picking up her drink. We raised our drinks and drank it. Then we talked for a bit.

"Hey, it's Saki-senpai!" Yosuke said. "Sorry! Be right back."

"Who's that?" I asked Chie as Yosuke went over to her.

"That's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district," Chie explained. "I think she's working here part-time, though."

"Oh," I said. I watched as Saki and Yosuke talked. Then Saki looked over in my direction. She walked over to me. Yosuke followed her.

"Are you the transfer student?" she inquired. "Did you hear about me already? It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to, huh? I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much."

"Uh—not necessarily," Yosuke protested.

"He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along good," Saki continued. "Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you." Yosuke's face turned a bit red.

"He's fine, really!" I said, laughing awkwardly. She chuckled.

"I know. I'm just kidding," she said.

"C-c'mon, Senpai. There's no need to worry about that," Yosuke said.

"Well, my break's just about over. Back to work I go," Saki said. "Laters!"

"Oh, uh, Senpai!" Yosuke called. He sat back down when he realized she didn't hear him. He laughed.

"Saki-senpai says I'm annoying, but she's even nosier than me," he laughed. "She has a younger brother, and she treats me pretty much the same way."

"Ooohhh, so you don't want her treating you like a brother, huh? Haha, I get it… so that's how it is…," Chie teased. "The daughter of a local family-run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain… hoho, the flame of forbidden love!" I tried not to laugh.

"Wha-!? Dude, it's not like that!" Yosuke protested.

"Oh reaaally? Well, I know just the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart," Chie said. "You ever hear of the Midnight Channel? You're supposed to look into a T.V. that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen… and they say that person's your soulmate!"

"What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful," Yosuke said. "How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?" I agreed but didn't say anything. I didn't want Chie getting mad at me.

"Childish, huh? You don't believe it, do you!?" Chie almost shouted.

"Of course I don't," he said.

"Well, it's raining tonight!" Chie said. "Let's all try it out—then you'll see!"

"'Try it out'?" Yosuke repeated slowly. "Wait, you haven't even tried it yourself!?" My thoughts exactly. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Wow...," Yosuke said, "I'm trying to remember the last time I hear something this stupid….

"All that aside, you know that 'incident' yesterday? You guys think it was murder?" he asked. "Ooh, what if the culprit behind it was still lurking around…?" He laughed evilly.

"Sheesh! You shouldn't joke about stuff like that," Chie muttered. "Now who's the childish one?

"All I'm saying is: you guys better try it out tonight," she continued. As stupid as it sounds, it piqued my curiosity. Could it actually work? I should try it out tonight….

We talked until it became late. We all said our good-byes and went home.

**(Evening)**

Nanako and I ate dinner together. She sighed.

"Did your dad call?" I asked. She sighed again.

"No. He always_ says_ he will," she muttered. I heard the door open and close. Nanako's face lit up.

"Oh! He's home!" she squealed. Dojima breathed out heavily.

"What a day…," he muttered. "I'm back. Did anything happen while I was out?"

"No. You're late again," Nanako accused.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Been busy at work." He sat down on the couch. "Can you put the news on for me?" he asked Nanako. She looked sad, but she did as he said.

The news talked about Mayumi Yamano. She had been involved in an affair with Taro Namatame, husband of enka singer Misuzu Hiiragi. It was basically a follow-up report about the incident yesterday.

_ Hmm…_ I thought,_ Could the incident be tied to the lovers' fight?_

"… we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body," the announcer continued. Dojima yawned.

"An interview with the kid?" he muttered. "Where the hell did they find her?"

"What went through your mind when you saw it?" the reporter asked, sounding excited. Too excited, if you ask me. "Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face?" he asked relentlessly.

"U-umm…," the female student said. Her voice and face were indistinct, although she reminded me of Saki Konishi.

"Don't you think it's scary that someone was killed on a foggy day?" the reporter continued.

"Huh? She was killed?" the girl asked.

"Oh, err…. So did you see anyone suspicious around here?" the reporter asked.

"No, not really," the girl answered. The reporter bombarded her with more questions. The news continued.

"….. So the cause of death is still unknown?" a commentator inquired. "And they don't have a single suspect yet? Taxpayers' funds are going to a police force who can't even figure out if this is an accident or a homicide?" Dojima sighed. This commentator sure is rude….

The commercials started. Junes's commercial showed up again.

"…. Everyday's great at your Junes!" the woman sang. Nanako repeated it happily.

"Hey Dad," Nanako said. "Can we go to Junes together sometime?" We looked back to see Dojima fast asleep.

"No…?" Nanako asked. She sighed. "Geez…." I stood up and went to the refrigerator. Nothing caught my eye, so I went upstairs.

It was pouring outside and it's almost midnight. So I decided to try out what Chie told me about.

"Your soulmate appears if you look into a T.V. on a rainy night." Is Chie's story true?

I went in front of the small T.V. in my room. I waited for a bit, but nothing came on.

"So it's not true, after all," I muttered. I was about to turn around when I saw the T.V. turn itself on. There was a girl in our school's uniform. Suddenly, my head started pounding.

** I am thou, thou art I...**

I stumbled back, grabbing my head. I felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer.

**Thou art the one... who opens the door...**

_What's going on!?_

The pain stopped after a few seconds. I don't know why I did it, but I reached out and touched the T.V. White circle things came out from where I touched it, as if I touched the surface of water. I put my hold hand in and it went through! I was so shocked, I lost my balance and fell forward. My head went inside. Quickly, I grabbed hold of the outside of the T.V., trying to get out. Finally, I managed to pull my head out. I stumbled backwards and fell down, hitting my head against the coffee table.

"Are you okay?" Nanako called.

"I-I'm alright," I called back, rubbing my head.

"Okay," she replied. "Well, good night." She seemed to have gone back to her room.

I looked at the T.V. What the hell just happened…? I decided to talk about it with the others tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: Hoped you enjoyed it! Please feel free to critique me anytime.**


	5. Inside the TV

**Thursday, 4/14 (Early Morning)**

Chie ran to me and forced herself under my umbrella.

The rain pattered against the umbrella.

"I did have my own, but I saw this kung fu movie where they used an umbrella to pull off some sweet moves," Chie explained. "And… I accidently broke mine trying to mimic the movie."_ Figures…._ She laughed awkwardly. "By the way… did you see it?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I did," I replied, nodding.

"Aha, do tell. But the person it showed…." She looked down. "Never mind. I'll save it for when the others are around. We're gonna be late for school." I nodded and we walked to school.

**(Morning)**

Ms. Kimiko Sofue talked about herself and history for a while.

"Our transferee, Ms. Ishida, please stand up," she called. I did as she asked.

"The western calendar is based on Anno Domini, the traditionally believed year of Jesus Christ's birth. What is the year before 1 A.D. called?" she asked.

"I B.C.," I replied.

"Ah, you seem to understand this well," Ms. Sofue said, nodding. "If you think history is like math, 0 A.D. would be the natural assumption, but world history is much more complicated…." I sat down as she lectured us.

**(After School)**

"What's you with the body being hung upside-down? That's so freaky!" a short girl exclaimed.

"Is it supposed to be like, mimicking an execution?" her friend replied. "It's messed up…."

"My senpai told me it was a third-year named Saki who found the body," the short girl said.

Yosuke walked over to me.

"Yo, um…," he greeted quietly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's, uh, it's not really that important, but…," he said. "Yesterday on T.V. I…." He looked embarrassed. "Oh, uh… never mind. Look I'll tell you later." He laughed awkwardly. Chie went up to us.

"Yosuke, did you hear the rumor?" she asked. "Saki-senpai's supposedly the one who discovered that body."

"I wonder if that's why she looked so down…. She doesn't seem to be at school today either," Yosuke muttered. Yukiko stood up.

"Hey Yukiko," Chie called, "are you helping out at the inn today, too?"

"Things are really out of hand right now. I'm sorry," she apologized as she walked away.

"Is it just me, or does Yukiko-san seem way stressed out today?" Yosuke commented.

"I guess they're running her ragged," Chie replied. "By the way, did you see… it… last night?"

"Huh?" he said. "Uh, well… what about you?"

"I did!" Chie exclaimed. "I seriously saw a girl! But my soulmate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean? I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure.

"Her hair was brown, about shoulder length. She was wearing our school uniform, and…"

"Hey… I think that's the same person I saw," Yosuke said. "I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier," he continued.

"Wait, so you saw it too!?' Chie yelled, looking surprised. "And we saw the same girl? Does that mean we have the same soulmate…?"

"How should I know?" he replied. He turned to me. "How about you? Did you see it?" I nodded and explained everything that happened last night.

"It sounds like we all saw the same person…," Yosuke muttered. "But weird voices aside, what was that about getting sucked into your T.V.?

"Were you that tired last night? You must've just fallen asleep in front of your T.V."

"That'd be one interesting dream, though," Chie remarked. "I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your T.V. was too small. That's pretty realistic. If it had been bigger….

"Oh! That reminds me. Our family's been talking about buying a bigger T.V."

"Oh yeah? Well, flat-screen T.V.'s are definitely in these days," Yosuke said. "Wanna go check 'em out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics department this month."

"Definitely!" Chie replied happily. "My parents don't know anything about electronic, and I've just gotta see my kung-fu movies on the big screen! Hwa-taaaa!" she yelled, jumping into a pose. I raised an eyebrow at her. She blushed and returned to her standing position.

"We've got some pretty big ones in stock. I bet they'd be big enough for you to fit into," Yosuke laughed. I sighed. They don't believe me at all….

_Well… it's hard to believe something like that,_ I reasoned. I decided to go to Junes with the others.

"Wow, this is huge!" Chie yelled. We were looking at the T.V.'s at Junes. "And… holy crap, it's expensive! Who buys something like this?" she exclaimed.

"I dunno… rich folks?" Yosuke suggested. "Honestly, not many people shop for T.V.s here. That's why we don't have clerks around."

"Not worth try then, I guess," she sighed. "Well, at least looking's free." Then the two of them walked up to the T.V. and touched the screen. They were obviously teasing me.

Their hands didn't go through.

"Nope, can't get in. Figures," Yosuke said. Chie laughed.

"This proves it. It was all just a dream," she chuckled.

"Besides, these flat-screen T.V.'s are so thin, you'd just end up on the other side," he said. He slapped himself in the head. "What am I saying?

"So, Chie. What kind of T.V. are you guys in the market for?" Yosuke asked her.

"They said they wanted one that's cheap," Chie replied. "You got any suggestions?" They walked off. I heard Yosuke say something in a deeper voice and Chie complained about something. They continued shopping.

I looked at the T.V. Oh well. Might as well try it. I went closer to it and place my hand on the screen. It went through, just like last night! Chie and Yosuke ran over.

"You gotta be kidding me…," Chie said. "Did you really stick your hand through the screen!?"

"Oh man… this is for real…. That's some magic trick, dude!" Yosuke stuttered. "So how's it work, huh? What's the magician's secret?"

"I don't know…," I answered weakly. "It just went through…." I climbed over as if it was a shelf. Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to put my whole body inside.

"Hey, don't do that! What're you doing!?" Yosuke yelled.

"Oh my God!" Chie screamed.

"It's empty inside," I remarked.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'inside'!?" Yosuke yelled.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'empty space'!?" Chie shouted.

"It's pretty spacious in here, too…," I told them.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'spacious'!?" Yosuke asked.

"What's going on!?" Chie demanded.

"Holy crap… I think this is all too much for my bladder," Yosuke said, jogging in place with his hand over his... private area.

"What the-? Are you going to pee your pants?" Chie asked.

"I've been holding it all day! I-I haven't had a chance to go!" Yosuke explained frantically. "I. Can't… hold… it… anymore…!" He ran off and came back. "S***! Customers! They're coming!" he warned.

"What!?" Chie yelled. "But we've got a girl half stuck in the T.V. here! What're we gonna do!?" They ran around panicked. I felt them fall into me and we all fell into the T.V.

"AAHHH!" we screamed.

I saw a white background thing and black squares with empty space in them swirl around and fly towards me.

I landed hard on the floor. I heard everyone else fall around me.

"Ow," muttered Yosuke as he rubbed his back. "I landed right on my wallet…."

"Man… where the heck are we?" Chie asked. "What is this place?" I stood up painfully. "Some place inside Junes?" Chie continued.

"Hell no it isn't!" Yosuke replied sharply. "I mean—we fell through a T.V.!

"Actually, uh…. What is going on here?" I glanced at the others.

"So, uh… we're still alive…. Right?" Chie muttered. I rubbed my lower back.

"You guys okay?" I asked.

"I think my butt's cracked now," Yosuke muttered.

"Of course it is!" Chie said.

"Woah!" he said suddenly.

"What now? Did you wet your pants?" she asked.

"No stupid! Look around!" It looks like we're in some kind of studio. The fog was super thick, though.

"Is this… a studio?" Chie said. "All this fog… or is it smoke? There's no place like this in Inaba, is there?"

"Hell no," Yosuke whispered. "But man… this place is huge!"

"What're we gonna do?" Chie asked worriedly.

"Let's try to find a way to go back home," I suggested nervously.

"G-good plan!" she said. "Look, we need to get home and-! Huh?

"Wait a minute… which way did we come from? I don't see a way in… or out!" I glanced around._ She's right!_

"What? That can't be right," Yosuke protested. "How could that be!?"

"I don't know! Don't ask me! I can't take this anymore! I wanna go home!"

"Okay, so how!?"

"Let's all calm down here for a sec," I interrupted.

"You're right," Yosuke muttered. "Okay… okay….

"Let's calm down and think about this. All right, so we need to find a way out."_ No duh,_ I thought.

"Is there really a way outta here?" Chie asked.

"We got in… so we must be able to get out somehow," Yosuke reasoned.

"He's right," I said.

"That's true, but…" she muttered.

"If there's no exit, we're trapped, so let's cross our fingers and look around," Yosuke suggested. We all agreed.

We walked down a path and found ourselves on this railing.

"What is this place?" Chie inquired. "It feels different from where we were before…."

"It looks like we're in some kinda building," Yosuke observed. "But, damn this fog's so thick, I can hardly see."

"Yeah…," I agreed.

"Are you sure we're not wandering farther away?" Chie asked.

"I can't be positive, but we've gotta trust our instinct a little," Yosuke said.

"I know…," Chie said.

"Looks like we've gotta continue forward," I said, walking towards a weird red vortex thingy in a doorway. We stepped through and found ourselves in a room of some sort. It had a bed in one corner.

"Is it me, or is the fog lighter here?" Yosuke asked.

"It's definitely lighter here…," I replied hesitantly. He took out his phone and flipped it open.

"No service. What a surprise," he said sarcastically.

"Can't you guys slow down a little? It's hard enough to see where you're going," Chie complained. She looked around. "Huh? What the…? It's a dead end! There's no exit!"

The walls were filled with posters with a woman on it. Her face was ripped out.

"It keeps getting creepier and creepier the further we go," Yosuke remarked.

"Yeah…," I agreed.

"Aargh! I can't hold it any longer!" he yelled, putting his hand over his… private area. "My bladder's gonna explode!" He ran off towards the far wall. I heard him unzip his pants. I turned away quickly.

"Yosuke!? What're you doing!?" Chie shouted.

"I gotta let it out before I piss my pants!" he replied.

"You're going here!? Oh you have got to be kidding…," she yelled.

"T-turn around! I can't go if everyone's watching!" he said. A few seconds passed. "I can't do it! It's all your fault if my bladder bursts!"

"Like I care," Chie replied. After a second, Yosuke turned back around.

"Anyways… what's with this room?" she muttered. "Check out these posters. Their faces are all cut out. Someone must really hate this person." Yosuke walked to a chair.

"Dude…. This chair and rope… that kind of arrangement is never good…," he commented. I studied it. There was chair with a red scarf tied in a noose hanging above it. Definitely not good.

"It's tied in a noose," he continued. "Is this a scarf?"

"I guess so," I replied.

"C'mon!" Chie interrupted. "Let's go back to where we came from and look somewhere else for an exit!" We all went to the door.

"Hey… I think I've seen that poster before," Yosuke remarked.

"Who _cares_!?" Chie cried. "Let's go! I'm sick of this place! And I'm not feeling so good…."

"Yeah," I said, "let's hurry."

"Now that you mention it, me too," Yosuke said. My body did feel heavy…. Could it be due to this place's oppressive atmosphere? Probably….

"Alright, let's go back. I'm seriously starting to feel sick," he said. I nodded and we went out.

We made it back to where we started.

"Whew… we finally made it back here," Chie sighed. "Wait… what's that!?"

"Th-there's something over there!" Yosuke said. I saw a silhouette of a… thing. It walked closer to us. Its feet made tiny squeaking noises.

"What is this thing?" Chie asked. "A monkey? A bear?"

"What in the world?" Yosuke said.

"Th-that's what I wanna know!" the bear asked. "Who are you guys?" Chie gasped.

"It talked!" she said. I stepped back cautiously. It could be dangerous.

The bear wore a red-and-white striped suit, with red button things down the middle. His neck area had a zipper thing. His…. "hair" was blue. It had huge brown eyes, an upside down triangle nose, and a thin smile, but he talked, the mouth opened.

"W-what are you!?" Chie demanded. "Y-you wanna fight!?"

"D-don't yell at me like that," the bear pleaded, cowering.

"What is this place?" I asked as nicely as I could.

"This place is what it is. It doesn't have a name," it replied. "It's where I live."

"You… live here?" Yosuke asked uncertainly.

"If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side," the bear warned. "Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache."

"Huh? Throwing people in?" Yosuke asked. "What are you talking about?"

"I dunno who's doing it!" the bear shouted angrily. "I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!"

"Hey, what's your problem!?" Chie yelled. "What gives you the right to yell at us like that!? What are you!? Where are we!? What the heck is going on here!?" The bear ran and hid behind me. I wanted to push him away.

"I already told you," the bear said. "Anyways, you should hurry back."

"What it comes down to is: you want us to get outta here, right?" Yosuke asked, sounding angry. "Well so do we! We just don't know how, dammit!"

"That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!" the bear yelled._ What!? REALLY!?_

"Like I keep saying, we don't know where the frickin' exi—" Yosuke began. "Wait… what?" The bear tapped his foot on the floor two times. A few seconds later, three small T.V.'s stacked on top of each other came out of nowhere

"What the hell!?" Yosuke yelled.

"Wh-where did those T.V.'s come from!?" Chie asked. We walked in front of them.

"Okay, now go, go; get outta here! I'm a busy bear!" the bear said. Then he proceeded to push us all into the tiny T.V.'s.

"Hey!" I yelled.

"What's going on now!? Whoa! Hey, what're you doing!?" Chie yelled.

"Stop pushing!" Yosuke yelled. I felt a sensation and saw that white-and-black square thingy again.

We fell out painfully.

"Huh? Is this…?" Chie began

"Did we… make it back?" Yosuke asked. We all stood up.

"Attention, shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor," a woman announced over the speaker. She continued to announce stuff about it.

"It's already that late?" Yosuke muttered.

"Looks like we were in there for quite a while," Chie said.

"That's right," he muttered. "Now I remember where I saw that poster before!" He pointed towards a poster. "Look over there! That's the poster we saw!"

"What's up now?" she asked. She turned around. "Hey, you're right! They're the same. I couldn't tell before without the face, but it was Misuzu Hiiragi…. She's been all over the news lately. Something about her husband having an affair with that announcer lady who died the other day."

"Yeah," I said, nodding. I looked at the picture again.

"Hey, so does that mean…," Yosuke began. "That weird room we saw…. Could it be related to that Yamano lady's death? Now that I think about it… there was that creepy noose hanging from the ceiling." He cried out. "Stop! No more! We gotta stop talking about this! I'm gonna wipe what happened today from my brain. I don't think my poor heart can take anymore" Chie looked down.

"I'm feeling a chill, too," she muttered. "Let's go home. I wanna lie down and rest." I nodded in agreement and we all went home.

**(Evening)**

"Hey, welcome home," Dojima greeted. It seems Nanako and him were going to eat some instant ramen.

"Hey," I said and plopped down in my seat at the table in front of the T.V. I still felt sluggish from this afternoon.

"Umm… well, I doubt you'd know," Dojima started. "But have you heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi?"

"Uh…," I muttered. "I know she that isn't at school today."

"Oh… I see…," he murmured. He sighed. "To be honest… we got a call from her family. She's disappeared." My eyes widened.

"What?" I asked.

"We've got people looking for her, but she hasn't been found yet," he continued. He sighed again. "Work just keeps piling up…."

The news announcer talked about the murders again. Mayumi Yamano had stayed at the Amagi Inn._ The Amagi Inn…_ I rubbed my chin, trying to remember where that was. I gasped. _Yukiko Amagi's family runs that inn!_

The news continued. The commentator talked about the inn. It was rumored that Yukiko's going to take over the inn this spring.

The news moved on to the weather. It's going to be foggy.

"Is the ramen ready now?" Nanako asked.

"Give it some more time," Dojima answered. I sneezed. I felt a slight chill.

"Are you sick?" Dojima asked worriedly. "You're probably adjusting to the new environment. Nanako, could you get her some cold medicine?" She nodded and went to get it. "You should get to bed after you take it," Dojima told me. I nodded.

I took my medicine and went to bed.

* * *

**A/N: The prologue/intro of Persona 4 Golden is REALLY long... -_- Welp. In chapter... 7 or so is when things start to speed up. And please critique my writing!**


	6. A Promise to a Bear

**Friday, 4/15 (Early Morning)**

"Ah, you're up," Dojima said. "Well, I'm off." He left the house.

"Why is he leaving so early?" I asked.

"Dad has to go do something," Nanako explained. "He got a call, so he left." She looked worried.

I heard some girls gossiping as I walked to school.

"… Police cars zooming by," the red-umbrella-holding girl.

"You live by the police station, don't you?" her friend asked. "Did you hear anything?" They continued gossiping. I heard sirens nearby._ Did something happen?_ I quickly headed to school.

**(Afternoon)**

People were gossiping all around me. Chie put her phone into her pocket. We were in the auditorium.

"Yukiko said she'd be here after lunch," Chie muttered. "I wonder why they're holding a school assembly all of a sudden." I shrugged. We both looked at Yosuke.

"Hey, what's wrong Yosuke?" she asked worriedly.

"Oh, it's nothing," he replied. I could tell from the tone of his voice that it was_ not_ nothing.

"…. is about to begin," Ms. Sofue said. "First, the principal has something to say." The principal walked behind the podium.

"I… regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you," he said. "One of our third-year students, Ms. Saki Konishi of Class 3… has passed away."

"What!?" I whispered loudly.

"'Passed away'!?" Chie repeated, eyes wide. Yosuke looked shocked.

"Ms. Konishi was found deceased early this morning," the principal continued. "The reasons behind her passing are currently under investigation by the police. If they ask you for cooperation, I urge you, as students of this school, to provide only the facts." The students around started talking before the principal shushed us.

"I have been assured by the faculty that there's been no evidence that bullying was involved in the incident," he continued. "So mind what you say, not only to the police, but to anyone who asks…."

"'Found dead'…? How could this happen?" Chie muttered. We looked at Yosuke. He looked sad and confused. The principal kept talking.

Chie and I were walking back to our classroom when we heard to girls talking. I could only hear part of the conversation.

"She died the same was as that announcer, right? That's so creepy…," the girl with brown hair said.

"… was hanging from a telephone pole," her friend said. "… murder case."

"… unknown poison," the first girl said.

"C'mon… sci-fi drama," her friend said. "… did you hear?... Saki… Midnight Channel…. In pain…."

"… nightmare," the first girl laughed. "… broadcasting… interviews… Saki on the brain." They walked away talking. Chie sighed.

"It's easy to toss around theories if you're not personally involved," she muttered.

"Hey," Yosuke said quietly as he walked up to us. "Did you guys check out the T.V. last night?"

"Yosuke? Not you too!" Chie yelled.

"Just listen for a sec!" he shouted back angrily. "Something kept bothering me, so I watched it again and… I think the girl on the screen was Saki-senpai."_ He's right!_ "There's no mistaking it," he continued. "Senpai looked like she was writhing in pain. And then she disappeared from the screen."

"What?" Chie asked.

"You heard Senpai's body was found in a similar situation as that announcer's, right?" Yosuke inquired. "Well, remember that guy you told us about? How he was all excited that his soulmate was the announcer?

"Maybe…. Just maybe, but—Ms. Yamano might've been on that Midnight Channel before she died, too," he concluded.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chie asked. Her eyes widened in understanding. "Hold on… are you saying…? People who appear on the T.V… die?"

"I can't say for sure," he replied. "But something tells me… I can't just dismiss it as coincidence." Chie gasped.

"Plus, remember what that bear thing said? How that place was dangerous, and we should leave before the fog clears…? It also said that someone's been throwing people in there. And that room with the posters on the wall… it has to have something to do with the announcer's death. I mean… don't you think there's some kind of connection there? Couldn't that world in the T.V. have something to do with Senpai's and the announcer's death!?" He turned to me. "Well? What do you think?' he asked. I looked down, rubbing my chin.

"It's possible…," I muttered.

"So it's not just me, huh?" he said. "If there is a connection, then it's a good bet that that the two of them went inside that world. That would explain the posters in that room. Which means, if we look around, we might find a place that has something to do with Senpai, too."

"Yosuke, don't tell me," Chie began.

"Yeah… I'm thinking about going in again," he replied. "I want to find out for myself." I could see the determination in his eyes. I also saw something else there that I couldn't name.

"Don't do this!" Chie protested. "You should just let the police handle this and—"

"You think we can rely on the police!?" Yosuke shouted. "They haven't made any progress on the announcer's case. Besides, even if we told them about the world inside the T.V., there's no way they're gonna believe us! If I'm completely off-base with this, that's fine. It's just… I need to know why Senpai had to die like this."

"Yosuke…," she muttered.

"After what I've seen and what I've put together, there's no way I can ignore it now," he said. He turned to me apologetically. "Sorry, Misaki-chan… but you're the only person who can help me," he said. "I'm gonna go get ready. I'll be waiting for you at Junes." He ran off.

"I kinda understand how he feels," Chie said. "But we can't be sure we'll be able to get out safely again. What should we do…?" I hesitated. It doesn't look like he'll stop what he's doing, no matter how much we try.

"I'll go with him," I answered.

"Y-you serious!?" Chie exclaimed.

"It's not like we can stop him," I replied, rubbing my head.

"I guess... Anyways, let's go to Junes. We can't leave Yosuke alone…." We ran off to Junes.

"You guys came!" Yosuke greeted us happily. He had a golf club in one hand and a rope tied around his waist in the other.

"We came to stop you, idiot!" Chie yelled.

"Well, _she_ came to stop you," I interrupted. "I came to go in with you." Chie glared at me. I gave her a small smile and a shrug.

"C'mon… you really shouldn't do this!" she protested. "It's too dangerous!"

"I know," Yosuke replied. "But we were able to come back once, right? If we go in from the same location, maybe we'll meet that bear again." Chie stomped her foot.

"'Maybe' isn't good enough," she said.

"Look, I can't just act like everyone else and pretend this has nothing to do with me," he said determinedly.

"That's true, but…," Chie muttered. Yosuke looked at me with strong determination in his eyes.

"What about you, Misaki-chan?" he asked. "Could you just run away?"

"Well—no, but I'm worried about Chie… and all of us…," I said. "There's no telling what might happen over there."

"Yeah, it'll be just you and me," he said. I sighed inwardly. He won't hesitate to bring _me_ in there, huh? Well… I guess it's because he needs my help to go in.

"Don't worry. I'm not going in without a plan. Chie, I'm leaving you in charge of this," he said, handing her the rope.

"Huh? What's that? A rope?" she asked._ NO,_ I thought sarcastically._ It's a snake._

"We'll go in with this tied to me, so I want you to hold on to this and wait here," he ordered.

"Wh-what?" Chie protested. "Then, this is a lifeline? C'mon wait a sec…."

"He, Misaki-chan. This is for you," he said, handing me the golf club. I took it and stared at it.

"Wait—you want me to fight!?" I asked nervously. _I'm no fighter! Why doesn't_ he_ hold a weapon!? Why can't_ he_ fight!?_

"And here," he said, handing me some stuff. I looked at the label. "Medicine."

"I thought it might be better than going in empty-handed," Yosuke said with a smile.

"Why am_ I _the one fighting?" I asked. He scratched his head.

"Uh…. Because it seems like you're… uh… a fighter?" he muttered awkwardly.

"Why can't you fight!?" I demanded. "_You're_ supposed to be the guy here!"

"I don't know how to fight!" he protested.

"Well neither do I!" I replied angrily. I looked at the golf club. I sighed._ I have to protect a_ boy_? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around…?_

"Alright… let's go," he sighed. "There's no use wasting any more time. Chie, whatever you do, don't let go of the rope!" we walked in as Chie protested.

I felt the familiar sensation as we fell through.

_Thud!_ Yosuke groaned. I felt something heavy on top of me. I opened my eyes to see Yosuke sitting on me. He glanced down and back. He blushed heavily.

"S-sorry!" he yelled as he quickly got off of me. I felt my face turn red.

"I-it's ok…," I muttered. We both stood up.

"Is this…?" he began. "Look, this is the same place as last time! So they are connected from place to place!"

"Yeah," I said.

"You guys!" a voice said. "Why'd you come back?" The weird bear walked up to us and glared.

"I get it! You're the ones behind this!" he accused (I've decided it was a male).

"You're that thing from last time!" Yosuke exclaimed. "Wait, what the hell did you just say!?" The bear turned around.

"Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here," he explained. "It's making this world more and more messed up." He turned back around. "This is the second time you came here. And I don't think anyone forced you in," he continued. "That means you're the most suspicious! You guys must be the ones throwing the people in here! Raaaaawr!"

"C'mon, don't label us like that," I said.

"What're you talking about, 'throwing people in'!?" Yosuke demanded. "If someone was thrown in here and they couldn't get out, they might die! Who would do such a—" He paused. "Wait a sec…. All this talk about someone throwing people in here…. Does he mean Senpai and the announcer? Did that someone throw those two in here? Hey, what do you think?"

"That must be it," I answered.

"Yeah, I agree," he said. "Let's assume he's telling the truth. Could it be that someone's throwing people in here, intending to kill them? If that's the case…."

"What are you guys mumbling about?" the bear asked, stomping his feet. "Why'd you guys come here, anyways!? It's a one-way door! You can't get out once you're in! Remember how_ I_ had to let you guys out?"

"Yeah, whatever," Yosuke said. "We don't need your help this time! See, this time we have a lifeli—" He stared at the rope. "Whaaaat!?" It was cut! He quickly turned to the bear. "You better let us out once we're done investigating here!" The bear growled.

"I'm the one who wants to investigate!" he yelled. "I've lived here for a looong time. But it's never been noisy like this till now. Do you have proof!? Prooove to me that you're not throwing people in here!"

"I don't think it works that way," I replied calmly. He glared at me.

"See? So it is you guys!" he accused.

"For the last time, it's not us, so we've got nothing to prove to you!" Yosuke yelled, fed up. "Hey, you better answer our questions. This isn't like last time when we came by accident. We're dead serious!

"Listen up, 'cause people have died in our world. Every time the fog appears a dead body shows up with it. It has to be related to this place somehow! If you know something, tell us!"

"A dead body?" the bear inquired. "Whenever the fog appears? I know that if it's foggy on your side, the fog lifts here. It's really dangerous when the fog lifts. That's when the Shadows get violent!" _"Shadows"? _His face lit up. "Aaah... I get it…."

"If you get it, then explain it to us, dammit!" Yosuke yelled. "If it's foggy on our side, it isn't in here? 'Shadows' get violent?"

"That's why I said to hurry back! It's dangerous when that happens!" the bear warned. "Okay, no more questions! I know you guys did it! You better stop right now!"

"I've told you and told you, we're not the ones doing it!" Yosuke yelled. "I've about had it with you! Why the hell won't you listen to what we're saying!?"

"Seriously!" I shouted, glaring at the bear. He backed up a bit.

"I-I'm just saying… you might be the culprits," the bear said weakly. "I'm just making sure."

"What? Man, this bear's driving me nuts!" Yosuke muttered.

"You can say that again…," I muttered.

"What is this placed, anyways?" he asked. "It looks like a T.V. studio. Is something being filmed here? Hey, don't tell me…. Is that weird show being filmed here?"

"'Weird show'? 'Filmed'? What does that mean?" the bear asked.

"I'm asking if someone's been filming the people that get thrown in here," Yosuke repeated. The bear still looked confused.

"I don't get it," he said. "This world has always been like this. No one has ever done that filming thing here."

"'Always been like this'?" I repeated.

"Only me and Shadows are here!" the bear said. "I told you before!"

"We don't know what these Shadow things! Or what you are either, for that matter!" Yosuke replied. "You keep telling us to prove our innocence, but you're the most suspicious thing, here! Maybe you're the real culprit! And what's with that stupid costume? I'd say it's time you showed your face!" Yosuke walked over and grabbed the bear's head and pulled. It popped off, showing nothing but air and darkness inside. Yosuke jumped back. I was so surprised and shocked that I nearly dropped my golf club.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are you!? I-it's empty inside…." The bear moved around, waving its hands near the floor, and found its head. He plopped it back on. I stared at the bear with wide eyes. I didn't know what to say.

"Me…? The culprit? I wouldn't do such a thing," he said weakly. "I just live here. I just wanna live here peacefully. Okay. I'll believe that you guys aren't the culprits. But I want you to find the real guy who did all of this. You have to stop him. Promise me, or else… I'm not gonna let you guys out of here."

"What!?" I squeaked.

"You little—" Yosuke shouted.

"This can't keep going on!" the bear protested sadly. "My home here will be a complete mess! And then… and then… I…." He started to cry. Loudly.

"What're you crying for all of a sudden?" Yosuke demanded. "Geez, this thing's really weirding me out…." I sighed, thinking about it.

This bear's asking us to find the culprit behind all of this. Someone in the real world's throwing people in here. This bear here's asking us to find him. And he seems really serious about this.

Yosuke sighed.

"What should we do?" Yosuke asked.

_It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed on you…,_ Igor's voice rang in my head.

_ Is this the mystery? And what's that… "contract" he spoke of? Could solving the case be part of this?_ I sighed._ It's not like I can leave this hellhole without promising this weird-ass bear._

"You're the only ones I can ask," the bear said. "Will you promise me?"

"Yeah, I promise," I answered, nodding.

"Thank you!" the bear yelled happily, hugging me.

"U-uh...," I muttered.

"Damn bear," Yosuke muttered. "Practically holding a gun to our heads. But it's true that we came here to figure things out. So far, we're completely in the dark.

"Look for the culprit, huh? Bring it on! You got my word, too!" he yelled. "Might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Yosuke Hanamura, and this is my…." He glanced at me. "My... uh… friend Misaki Ishida. You got a name?"

"Teddie," the bear replied. Yosuke groaned.

"Figures," he said curtly. "But how are we supposed to find the culprit in the first place?"

"I dunno," Teddie replied. I sighed. "But I know where the last person came in."

"'The last person…?'" Yosuke repeated. "You mean Saki-senpai!?"

"I mean the person who came in and disappeared last time," the bear replied. "I don't know the name. I'll take you there. You might find clues. Oh, one thing first. You two should put these on."

He gave us glasses. My glasses were square-ish and grey. There were rainbow colors on the side. Yosuke's was orange and more square-ish than mine. His, too, had rainbow colors on the side. We put them on.

"Whoa!" Yosuke exclaimed.

"It's like the fog doesn't exist!" I yelled.

"The difference is like night and day," he said.

"They'll help you walk through the fog," Teddie explained. "Well I've been here for a long time, so you can rely on me! Uh… but I can only show you where the place is. You guys will have to defend yourselves."

"What happened to relying on you!?" Yosuke demanded nervously. "Th-there better not be any monsters, you understand!? We brought weapons, but I mean…. They're more for show.

"We just got here! If it's so dangerous, why don't you do something instead of relying on us!?" Yosuke demanded. Teddie waved his hand in front of him

"Uh uh," he said. "No way. I've got no muscles. Oh! Oh! I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance!" I sighed. He reminded me of a friend I had in my old school…. "How's that sound?" he asked._ Can he seriously not fight?_ I walked over and gave him a small shove. He fell on his back.

"N-nooooooo…," he cried out weakly.

"I-is this thing for real!?" Yosuke demanded.

"Seriously…," I muttered. Yep, definitely like my friend.

"Ugh, this is so lame…," Yosuke muttered. "We swore to find the culprit, and this is all the backup we get?"

"I guess…," I sighed.

"Oh yeah," Teddie said. "Can I ask you something? Who's this Saki-senpai person? Someone you know?" Yosuke made a sound.

"That doesn't matter right now," he replied tightly. "Anyways, at least now we know Senpai might have been thrown in here. Maybe we can find more information, too. Let's get moving, Misaki-chan." We turned around and started walking when Teddie cried out. I turned around and helped him up. I groaned._ What a GREAT backup..._ I thought.


	7. Yosuke's Shadow

"What is this place?" Yosuke asked after we had walked for a few minutes. "It looks just like the shopping district…. What's going on here!?"

"Some weird places have appeared here recently," Teddie explained. "Things are getting so tangled, I don't know what to do!"

"Uh by the way," Yosuke said, turning around. "Why are you standing so far from us? You better not be planning to high-tail it if something does come up."

"Of course not!" Teddie assured us unsuccessfully. "I mean, uh, I can't stand too close, you know. I'd get in your way." Yosuke sighed and looked around.

"Man, they really went all out on this," he remarked. "But out of all the places in town, why'd they replicate this one?"

"How should I know? This is reality for the one who's here," Teddie said. Yosuke sighed again.

"As usual, nothing you say makes any sense," he replied. "But if this our shopping district, we're not far from Saki-senpai's…." He turned around and ran up towards the north shopping district. Teddie and I ran after him. I glanced up at the sky. It was red, with black… stripe thingies that moved away from… the center of the sky or something.

"I knew it!" Yosuke exclaimed. "This is the liquor store that Senpai's parents run. Does this mean Senpai disappeared here? What could've happened?" He started to walk through the red and black swirly door portal we saw back at that weird room.

"W-wait a second! Th-they're here!" Teddie warned nervously.

"What?" Yosuke replied.

"Shadows. I had a feeling they were going to attack…!" Teddie muttered.

Some weird black blobs formed at the portal door. They had masks on them. Yosuke yelled and fell back. They stretched up and formed a sphere. The spheres turned pink with black stripes on them. They turned around, revealing huge mouths with black tongues sticking out. The monsters rushed towards us at break-neck speed. I raised my fists to my face, expecting impact.

**I am thou. Thou art I.**

My head throbbed. It was the same voice that called to me the time I put my hand into the T.V. for the first time.

**The time has come.**

I felt something in my hand. I put it in front of me and opened it. There was a blue card. It had a weird face/mask on it.

**Open thine eyes and call forth what is within!**

I flipped it over and it shined with piercing blue light. I smiled, feeling the rush of power through my veins.

"Per—" I whispered. "So—Na…."

The card went up in blue flames. I closed my hand over it, crushing the card. My insides burned. I screamed, throwing my head back. Blue flames surrounded me, jumping higher and higher. I felt a presence behind me for a second before it disappeared.

I stepped toward the monsters, brandishing the golf club.

"Stay calm and listen," Teddie called. "Some shadows have weaknesses. If you can pinpoint that weakness and take advantage of it, the battle will be a lot easier! I can tell this one has a weakness too! Try stuff out and see what works!"

I jumped back and summoned my Persona. The blue card surrounded by blue fire appeared in front of me. I brought my hand up and crushed it in my hand. The Persona appeared in front of me. It wore a black overcoat. Its legs were black and its feet were knives. Two white laces crossed the back in an X shape. Its head had a white lace thing that trailed behind it. It had a visor-thing on, its golden eyes showing through it. It was holding a long sword.

"Izanagi!" I yelled as the Persona used lightning on one of the monsters. The monster fell down.

"I'll keep track of what attacks have what effects on enemies!" Teddie yelled. I jumped back again as Izanagi used lightning on the other one. It, too, fell down. I ran towards the first one, slashing down with my golf club. It disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The other one got up and attacked me. I dodged it and countered. It went up in a puff of smoke, much like the other one I defeated.

There was something on the floor. I picked it up. "Soul Drop." Huh._ I wonder what that's for…._ Yosuke ran up to me.

"Whoa… wh-what was that!?" he asked, looking shocked. "Did I hear you say 'Persona'!? What was it— I mean—what did you do!?"

"I dunno," I replied, shrugging. The rush of energy had subsided. I leaned against the side of the building.

"Hey, you think I can do it, too?" Yosuke asked, excited.

"Uh…," I muttered.

"Calm down, Yosuke!" Teddie ordered. "You're troubling Sensei!"

"'Sensei'?" I asked. "Who's Sensei?"

"You, of course!" Teddie replied happily. "Gosh almighty! You're amazing, Sensei! I am one impressed bear! I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the Shadows were scared of you!" He gasped. "Are you the one who's able to bring people into this world?"

"I-I guess," I replied.

"That's what I thought!" he exclaimed. This is really something! Don't you think so, Yosuke?"

"Dude, you call her 'Sensei' and then don't show me any respect!?" Yosuke demanded, shoving Teddie. He got back up and muttered, "Sorry…."

"W-well your support wasn't bad though," Yosuke praised. "I gotta give you some credit for that!"

"Huh? R-really?" Teddie asked. He chuckled nervously.

"All right, two keep it up, and I think we'll be fine from here on out," Yosuke said.

"Yeah… depend on the girl…," I sighed.

"W-well you have that awesome power!" Yosuke protested. I sighed again.

"Whatever, whatever," I said. "Let's get going…." We walked towards the portal-door.

Suddenly, voices began to echo from somewhere.

"I wish Junes would go under," a woman sighed.

"It's all because of that store!" another woman said.

"Wh-what the!?" Yosuke said. The voices kept talking. They talked trash about Saki Konishi and Junes.

"S-stop it…," Yosuke mumbled. The voiced continued talking. "Hey… hey Ted!" Yosuke called. "You said that this place is reality for those that are here, right!? So… does that mean this was Senpai's reality when she wandered in here?"

"I… only know about what's over here," Teddie replied uncertainly.

"Fine!" Yosuke said. We turned to the doorway. "Whatever's going on here…. We'll found out ourselves!" We ran in.

It was dark inside. There was liquor everywhere. Well… I guess that makes sense, since this was a liquor store. We heard the voices again.

"Dammit, not again," Yosuke muttered. A man was yelling at someone.

"Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!?" he demanded.

"I-is this… Senpai's dad?" Yosuke asked quietly. The dad yelled at her, saying she's a shame to the family.

"I can't believe this…," Yosuke muttered. "She seemed like she had fun at work. She never said anything like this to me…. You're telling me_ this_ was how Senpai saw things!?" He ran over to the counter. The voices stopped.

"These photos…," Yosuke muttered. "Hey, is this…?" He picked up a photograph. "It's the photo we took the other day with the other part-times at Junes…. Why's it cut up like this?" I glanced at the picture he was holding. The scrap of the photo showed Saki Konishi smiling. Yosuke was standing next to her. I glanced at him. His face was contorted with pain.

"I… never had the chance to say it…," Saki's voice echoed. Yosuke looked up.

"Is that… Senpai's voice?" he asked.

"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan," she continued, "that he was a real pain in the ass! I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all! But he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic. What a dip."

"'Pain in the ass'?" Yosuke repeated, his eyes widening.

"Who cares about Junes, anyway?" Saki asked. "Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back…. I wish everything would just disappear."

"It's a lie…. This can't be…," Yosuke mumbled. "Senpai's not like that!"

"It's," a voice like Yosuke's said. It had a… "deeper undertone"? It sniffed. "so sad…," it continued. "I feel so sorry for myself. Boo hoo." We turned around quickly. Another Yosuke was standing there. His eyes were golden and he had a dark blue… aura surrounding him. "Actually," he continued, "I'm the one who thinks everything is the pain in the ass!" He laughed evilly. Teddie ran over.

"Two Yosukes?" he asked. Yosuke ran up to his imposter.

"Who are you!?" Yosuke demanded. "I-I wouldn't think that…." he muttered uncertainly. The other Yosuke laughed.

"Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself?" he asked with a smirk on his face. "Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, expecially living out in the sticks!"

"What're you saying? Th-that's not true… I—" Yosuke muttered.

"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone," the other Yosuke sneered. "The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation. And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the_ real_ reason you came snooping…."

"S-stop it!" Yosuke protested. The other Yosuke laughed.

"Why so panicked? I thought just spouting bulls***! Or maybe… I_ do_ know everything you're thinking! Why's that? Because…. I AM you! You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do out in this s***hole?

"A world inside the T.V.—now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you!?" My eyes widened. That's what the undetectable look in his eyes were before we went into the T.V.!_ Joy!_

"That's not true…," Yosuke protested, shaking his head. "Stop… stop it!"

"You're just trying to act like a big shot," the other Yosuke said. "If all went well—hey!—you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!"

"That's not true!" Yosuke yelled after a moment's hesitation. "What are you!? Who are you!?" The other Yosuke chuckled.

"I already told ya," he said. "I'm you… your Shadow…. There's nothing I don't know about you!"

"Screw that! I don't know you!" Yosuke shouted. "You can't be me, you son of a b****!" The other Yosuke laughed.

"That's right!" he yelled. "Say it again!"

"You're not me…," Yosuke said quietly. "You're nothing like me!" I got ready to fight. I felt something like blood lust come from him.

"Yeah that's right," Shadow Yosuke smirked. "I am_ me_ now! I'm not you anymore, see?" Yosuke backed away. Blinding white light came off of him. Black tendrils surrounded the Shadow. They dissipated, revealing a huge… thing. The bottom half of it was this… frog-like creature. Its feet where huge hand things. The top half was this black guy connected to the frog thing. Its waving is arm back and forth. Its hands where huge and yellow. Around its neck was a red scarf. Its eyes were covered with shuriken thingies. The walls around us fell, leaving lots of empty space for us to fight.

I glanced at Yosuke as he fell down. I had no time to worry about him now.

"I am a Shadow… the_ true_ self…," he said. "I'll crush everything that bores me…. Starting with you, girl!"

He shot a gust of wind at me, knocking me down.

"How long can you survive this?" he asked, laughing.

"This one's much stronger than the last type! Be careful! Whenever you feel threatened just defend yourself!" Teddie yelled. I got up. I summoned Izanagi and used Zio (the electricity spell) again and again. He got up after being knocked down and swung at me. I flew back and skidded across the ground. I slowly got up. The Shadow didn't make a move yet. Instead, he laughed. I gritted my teeth. I won't let him toy with me!

I ran up to him and slashed with my golf club. I rolled underneath him, feeling my skirt lifting and revealing my…. Yeah._ Oh how I hate skirts…._ I ran behind the Shadow.

"Izanagi!" I yelled. My Persona appeared and swung his sword at the Shadow, cutting open a huge gash. Shadow Yosuke staggered and used a wind spell, knocking me off my feet._ Crap!_ He loomed over me, laughing. I painfully rolled out of the way, using Zio. The lightning struck him and he fell down. Quickly, I ran over and slashed at him again and again. He swatted me, sending me back a couple of feet. The Shadow got up and used the wind spell again. I got up and dodged out of the way. I turned back to him and used Zio over and over again.

He finally fell down, releasing a huge puff of smoke. The smoke cleared, revealing a guy in the middle. I staggered over to Yosuke, who was finally waking up.

"I…I…," he muttered as I painfully helped him up.

"Yosuke, are you okay!?" Teddie asked, running up to us.

"Y-yeah… what happened?" Yosuke asked. He looked at me and his eyes widened. "M-Misaki-chan…." I guess I look all beat up.

"I-I'm fine," I replied, trying to smile. I gestured to the Shadow, who was standing now. Yosuke glared at it.

"You… you're not me," he muttered.

"That thing came from you, Yosuke," Teddie explained quietly. "You have to admit it… or it'll go berserk again…." Yosuke glanced at me. I sighed. I can't take Shadow Yosuke on anymore…. I'll die if I do….

I glanced up at Yosuke. He seemed reluctant to accept it. I smiled at him.

"You're still yourself, you know," I said. He turned around.

"Myself…," he muttered. "Dammit… it hurts to face yourself…."

"It's alright," I said, giving him a smile. He walked up to his Shadow.

"I knew he wasn't lying," Yosuke admitted. "But I was so ashamed that I didn't want to admit it. You're me and I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me." Shadow Yosuke nodded slowly. He turned into a creature floating high in the air. It was Yosuke's Persona. I don't know how I knew. I just knew it.

His Persona was white. In its hands were shurikens. It had Mickey Mouse ears at the top of its head. Its eyes were covered with shurikens and at its neck was a huge check golden boomerang thing.

"This… is my Persona," Yosuke muttered. He turned around and squatted. I felt like falling down to my knees….

"When we hear Senpai's voice," he said. "I wonder if that was something Senpai had been keeping deep down inside." He chuckled. "'He was a real pain in the ass,' huh? What a way to find out…. Geez this is so embarrassing….

"If you weren't here, I don't know what woulda happened… thanks, Misaki," he said.

I held out my hand.

"It's gonna be okay," I said, smiling. "And don't worry. I won't tell anyone else about this." He took my hand and stood up.

"Thanks," he said, smiling. I saw his face turn red as he turned to the bear. "Hey, Teddie. Could Senpai have been attacked by her other self here? Like how it just happened to me?"

"I think so," Teddie answered. "The Shadows here were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears. Then they all go berserk. And you saw what happens next. A strong-willed Shadow draws others to it. And the big mass of Shadows kills the host."

"So that's why people die when it gets foggy in our world…." Yosuke concluded. He sighed heavily.

"Yosuke's pretty worn out," Teddie remarked.

"Yeah," I muttered.

"This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable for you here," he said. "I don't hear anymore voices. I think we're done with this place. Let's go back." I nodded. I walked closer to Yosuke and slung his arm over my neck.

"Wh-what!?" he exclaimed. I put my arm over his neck.

"We'll support each other," I muttered, walking towards the door.

"H-hey!" Yosuke yelled, taking his arm back. "Wh-why are you doing this?"

"Because we're both tired," I answered wearily, swaying on my feet. I leaned against the wall. Yosuke sighed and put my arm over his shoulder.

"You're pretty worn out, huh?" he chuckled. We made our way back and Teddie snickered. I ignored him, but Yosuke seemed pretty bothered by it.

We finally made it back! Woo! I sighed.

"Hey, Teddie," Yosuke said. "You said that this place is reality for people who enter, right? So that shopping district, and the weird room we saw before… did they exist because the ones who died entered this world, and it became their reality? I guess what I'm trying to ask is…. Did those places form because of the people who entered this world?"

"I don't know," Teddie replied. "It's never happened before. But that's probably where they were when the Shadows attacked them."

"So it was the same for them?" I asked.

"The fog does lift here sometimes," he answered. "The Shadows get really violent then. I always get so scared. I have to hide when it happens. I sensed people here twice before. But both of them disappeared after the fog lifted."

Yosuke summed up the situation.

"So if I'd been here until the fog cleared, I woulda been in much deeper trouble?" he asked.

"I guess," I said.

"You were lucky," Teddie said. "Sensei and me were here with you…."

"Dammit!" Yosuke shouted. "Senpai and that announcer…. They were stuck here all alone…. No one could save them…."

"Yosuke…," I muttered.

"They disappeared when the fog lifted," Teddie explained. "But they were safe before that. No Shadows attacked them. They attacked us, though…. Maybe they're keeping a close eye on us. They might see people who investigate this place as enemies. It'll be dangerous, but we might be able to fight them! We might save people!"

"Are you saying, if anyone else gets thrown in here, we can save them before they disappear!?" Yosuke inquired excitedly. "Like how you guys just saved me!?"

"Hell yeah!" I shouted, throwing my fist into the air.

"Anyways… we need to catch the one who's throwing people in here and make him stop. Yeah…. I'm finally starting to understand what's going on."

"Umm… can I ask something too?" Teddie asked. "If Shadows are born from humans, what was Teddie born from?"

"I don't know, Teddie," I replied, shaking my head.

"I know some things… mostly about this world… but I don't know anything about myself," Teddie muttered. "To be honest, I never thought about it until now…."

"Are you serious?" Yosuke asked. "No wonder we couldn't get a straight answer out of you."

"Will you guys… come back here?" Teddie asked. I smiled.

"We made a promise, dude," I replied.

"You'll… keep your word?" he asked.

"Well, you're the one who said you weren't letting us out unless we so," Yosuke said.

"Oh! Th-that's right!" Teddie said. "But there's one thing. I'll be waiting for you guys here. You need to come in from the same place every time so we can meet up."

"'From the same place'?" I repeated.

"You could come in from somewhere else, but you won't end up here," Teddie explained. "You might show up somewhere I couldn't get to you. Then you'd be dooooomed. Got it!?"

"Well, pretty much," Yosuke answered. "Alright, can you show us the way out?"

"Roger that! One exit comin' right up!" Teddie announced. He summoned the T.V.'s again. We were pushed through by Teddie. Uncomfortably.

We fell out as Chie gasped and fell to her knees.

"Y-you guys came back!" Chie cried.

"Huh? Chie? Whoa what's with that face?" Yosuke asked. She looked like she had been crying. She stood up and threw what's left of the rope at Yosuke. He fell back.

"The nerve of you guys!" Chie yelled. "You are such morons! I can't believe this! You guys suck! The rope cut off! I had no idea what to do…. I was so worried…. I mean—scared stiff, dammit! I hate you both!"

"Sorry Chie!" I yelled as she ran away. I sighed.

"I… I think that mighta kinda sorta been our fault…," Yosuke mumbled. "Maybe we did go a little too far. Let's apologize to her tomorrow."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"I'm completely wiped out…. I'm gonna go home, soak in the shower for a while, and get some sleep," Yosuke sighed. "I think… I'm gonna sleep well tonight." I nodded. "Well, see ya in the morning!"

"See ya," I muttered. We both went home.

It was raining as I walked down the flood plain and saw Yukiko wearing a pink kimono. I went over to her and sat down on the bench.

"Oh…. Are you surprised to see me dressed this way? My parents sent me out on an errand," Yukiko explained. "Um… are you getting used to your new town and school?"

"Yeah," I replied. "It's pretty nice here."

"Really?" Yukiko asked. "But… it must be difficult, moving to a place you know nothing about. I've never been out of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer to a new school.

"Oh! Are you getting along with Chie? I mean, I always leave early, so… um…."

"We're getting along," I answered._ Kinda…_ I thought.

"I'm glad to hear that," Yukiko said. "Chie's very supportive, you know. It's always her who gives me the little extra push I need. We had homeroom together last year too. And I still remember how we'd cut class sometimes." She chuckled. "Oh… I should get going. I need to make tomorrow's arrangements with our head chef. Our inn can't function without me right now." She stood up. "Um… I'll see you at school then."

"See ya," I said.

**(Evening)**

"Dad's late," Nanako sighed. I closed the door and sat down in front of her at the coffee table. The news was talking about Saki Konishi.

"Another incident…," Nanako muttered. "Dad won't be coming home tonight." I sighed. Sometimes I wonder if he even cares about his child.

"Don't worry," I said," I'll be here with you."

"I'll be okay," she replied. "Can you help me do some stuff around the house?"_ Man…, _I thought,_ she so reliable for her age…._

The news talked about the Amagi Inn now. They showed Yukiko on the screen, wearing a kimono. They interviewed her.

"This is boring," Nanako complained. She stood up. "I need to do the dishes." I got up and decided to help Nanako with the housework. After that, I went up to my room to watch the Midnight Channel.

The Midnight Channel showed a silhouette of a woman who's probably in a kimono. I couldn't tell who it was… but it might be Yukiko Amagi….

_ Hmm… What would happen if I touched the image on the Midnight Channel?_ So I stuck my hand in there, but nothing happened. The image disappeared. I took my hand out. I need to speak with Yosuke and Chie about this…. I went to bed.

I found myself sitting in the Velvet Room.

"Welcome," Igor greeted. "Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world. I have summoned you within your dreams."_ Oh god… what does he want now…?_ "And so we meet again."

"This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter," Margaret said. "In your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice."_ My inner voice is a male's?_ "Thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power."

"Hold on to this…," Igor said. He gave me a key with a small circle at the top of it. The circle was that mask thing I saw on the blue tarot card I summoned. "From this night forth, you are our guest in this Velvet Room. Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help.

"There is but one price for this assistance. You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make."

"I understand," I said.

"Very well," Igor said. "The Persona you have acquired… it is a side of you that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you can think of is as… a façade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life. Your Persona ability, however, is that of the wild card. Compared to that of others, it is very special. It is the number zero… empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself."

"'Empty'?" I repeated.

"The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart. And the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities." I stared at him. Or rather, his long nose.

"'Control one's heart'?" I repeated.

"Social Links are necessary for more than strengthening your Persona," Margaret explained. "At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are searching for."

"Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you?" Igor inquired. "I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together." He chuckled. I, for one, was_ not_ excited to travel on the road of my destiny with this creepy, long-nosed old man. "'Till we meet again…." Everything went black.


	8. Yukiko on the Midnight Channel

**Saturday, 4/11 (Early Morning)**

"Yo," Yosuke called, walking up to me with his bike. "You saw what was on last night, right?" he inquired. I nodded. "I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on T.V., we can't ignore it. Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something." He looked down at his bike. "If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all of this. Even if it's something about that place that's killing the victims... If someone's using that world as a weapon, that's unforgivable." He looked at me, his eyes filled with determination. "We need to find the culprit, no matter what it takes!"

"What?" I asked, staring at Yosuke with wide eyes. I was not expecting to be part of a mystery murder case when I got here.

"There's no way the police can do it," he reasoned. "Who'd believe that the murderer kills people by throwing them into the T.V.?"

"Well…," I drawled. "We did promise the bear." I grinned widely. "So why not?" Yosuke laughed.

"Yeah! Besides, a promise is a promise," he said. "You know, I tried sticking my head in the T.V. last night, the way you did. And it actually worked!"

"Seriously?" I demanded.

"I think I can do that now because I have the same power," he said. "Persona, wasn't it? Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case."

"Someone gave us this power so we could solve the case?" I repeated, looking at him quizzically. "I don't think they'd be_ that_ nice." Yosuke shrugged.

"Then again, you managed to go inside the T.V. and get your Persona first," he said. "I feel like, as long as you're with me..." He blushed. "Uh… I can find the culprit and crack the case," he continued. I laughed, switching my briefcase to my other hand, and slung my arm over his neck, like we're old buddies.

"Then let's do our best!" I laughed, half dragging him along.

"Ow, ow, ow...," he muttered.

Suddenly, Yosuke stopped. _What the...?_ I glanced around, only to see that everyone else had stopped moving as well._ What the hell!?_ Suddenly, an enlarged back of a Tarot card appeared in front of me. Everything went dark around me. It flipped over, to show a picture. There were black hands at the bottom of the card, holding black fire. The eyes were above the fire, staring into space. There was an infinity sign above that. At the very bottom was the Roman numeral: I. Then I heard a voice.

_Thou art I... and I am thou..._

_Thou has established a new bond._

_It brings thee closer to the truth._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana._

The card vanished and turned into a blue flame, which trailed into my heart area. I felt a warm feeling.

Igor's voice echoed in my mind.

_The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart… and the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities,_ he said.

_"Social Links",_ I thought.

"You all right?" Yosuke asked. I glanced around. Everything came back to life again.

"Huh? I'm fine," I answered. I grinned as if nothing happened. "Let's get going!"

We arrived at the classroom. I sat in my seat.

"Chie!" Yosuke called. "About yesterday… we're sorry we worried you…." I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm sorry…."

"Never mind that," Chie said. "Is Yukiko still not here?"

"Y-Yukiko-san?" Yosuke repeated. "Uh… no…. At least, I haven't seen her today."

"Me neither," I said.

"Oh man, what should I do?" Chie groaned. "Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real? You know… all about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world." The rain started to pound on the windows.

"We were just talking about that," Yosuke said. "We're thinking of checking it out later—"

"The person on T.V. yesterday…," Chie began. "I think it was Yukiko." Yosuke and I stared at her. "That kimono looked like the one she wears at the inn, and she wore it during that interview a few days too," she continued.

"Come to think of it…," I muttered, recalling the image I saw last night. "It probably_ was_ Yukiko-san…."

"I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded," Chie said anxiously. "I called her earlier in the evening though, and she said she'd be at school today."

"Calm down," Yosuke said. "We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?"

"No," she replied, fidgeting. I pondered about whether or not I should tell her the info I had gained in the other world for Chie. After a moment's hesitation, I decided to do it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. "Wait—are you saying… Yukiko was thrown in there!?"

"We don't know yet for sure!" Yosuke yelled. "We should check to see if she's safe first. Give her another call," he ordered. Chie called Yukiko, then hung up.

"No good," she reported. "Her voicemail picked up. She's not answering!"

"Then is Yukiko-san inside that place?" Yosuke muttered.

"Uh… maybe she's busy helping out at the inn," I suggested nervously.

"Yeah, but would she skip school for that?" he asked.

"Maybe, if it's important," I replied, although he was probably not looking for an answer. Chie called the inn.

"C'mon, Yukiko… pick up…," she pleaded quietly. Her eyes widened. "Oh is this Yukiko!? Thank God, she's there!" Chie talked to Yukiko for a bit, her voice shaking slightly, and then hung up. "She was over at the inn," Chie explained. "She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out. Yeah… now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too." She glared at Yosuke and walked closer to him menacingly.

"I told you…," I said, relieved.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke!" Chie exclaimed. "You got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine!" She continued to yell at him. I tuned out for a bit.

"… reason we thought that," Yosuke said. I decided to pay attention now. "We thought people show up on the Midnight Channel because they're already over in that world. I mean, it makes sense, right? People show up on T.V. because they're inside the T.V…. But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. We might wanna what this is about. Let's meet up at Junes after school." I nodded.

We arrived at Junes. I explained everything to Chie again, only this time with more detail. Yosuke sighed.

"Okay, I think that's more than enough about my sorry escapades," he interrupted.

"If I hadn't seen the place first hand… I'd never have believed a story like that," Chie said.

"Anyways, we need to know what's going on inside," Yosuke said. We all glanced around. There were a whole bunch of customers in the area.

"How? By talking to that Teddie guy?" Chie asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Too bad there's so many customers around… I forgot there's a sale in the electronics department today." His face lit up. "I got it! C'mere a sec." I walked closer to the T.V. "Try sticking your hand in and calling him over. I bet that bear's wandering around the entrance anyway. Hey Chie, stand over here. Make a wall with me."

"'A wall'?" Chie repeated, but she did as he said anyway. I put my hand into the T.V. and tried to beckon Teddie over. I cried out, stumbling back and pulling my hand out. Something bit me! I studied my hand. It had bite marks on it.

"What's wrong!?" cried Yosuke.

"Shhh! Not so loud, you idiot!" Chie hushed. "Dude, is that a bite mark!? Are you okay!?" I stared at my hand some more.

"I'm fine… I think," I answered.

"That's good," she said. "Sheesh! That stupid bear must've done it! Hey, you! We know you're in there!" The white ripple effect thing formed on the screen.

"Ooh ooh, is this a game?" Teddie asked. I sighed. He reminds me more and more of my old friend….

"No, it's not a game!" Yosuke hissed. "Can you sense anyone inside there right now?"

"Who's 'anyone'?" Teddie inquired. "I'm a lonely little bear like always. This land so… bear-ren." I chuckled. I could get used to him… maybe.

"Shut it!" Chie ordered quietly. "So there's no one inside? You're sure?"

"I-I'm not lying! My nose is running as good as ever!" he replied nervously.

"I'm gonna go warn Yukiko anyway," Chie decided. "Since she'll be busy this weekend helping out at the inn, I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still…."

"Yeah. Just in case," I agreed.

"You'll walk with her to school on Monday, right?" Yosuke asked.

"Sure. I'll go pick her up at her house," she said, nodding.

"Maybe we'll find out more on tonight's Midnight Channel," he said.

"Yeah," I said.

"Cross your fingers that this is all just a misunderstanding," he muttered.

"Yeah, but somehow I doubt that," I remarked. Yosuke glanced down, his face turning red.

"Wh-what's your cell number?" he asked, glancing at the floor. "I'll call you when I watch it tonight." I studied him. He doesn't seem like the type to blush when he's asking for a girl's number. He asked Yukiko out without a second thought and now he's acting like this in front of me?_ I'll worry about it later,_ I told myself quietly.

We exchanged cell numbers.

"Alright, don't forget to watch tonight," he said. I nodded. I hope this is all a huge coincidence or something… but I had a gut feeling that it wasn't. I sighed.

"Welcome back!" Nanako greeted as I closed the door behind me.

"Hey," I said. I went to the refrigerator and got a small snack before heading upstairs to my room.

I changed into my nightclothes and started to eat my snack. I watched the T.V. It turned on. The image was super clear.

"Good evening!" the girl on the screen greeted happily. She wore a lacy pink dress, kinda like a princess. "Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise!" I gaped at the screen. _What. The. Hell. Am I watching!?_ "I'm going to score myself a hot stud!" she continued. "Welcome to Not a Dream, Not a Hoax, Princess Yukiko's Hunt for Her Prince Charming!" She giggled. "And I came prepared!" The camera zoomed in on her dress. "I've got my lacy unmentionables on from top to bottom! I'm out to catch a whole harem and the best of the lot's gonna be all mine! Well… here I go!" She ran off into a huge castle. The sky was red with the stripy black things. The entrance to the inside of it was the red portal thing with the black circle things in it. The T.V. turned off._ That was_ definitely_ Yukiko,_ I thought, staring at the empty screen. My phone rang.

"Hey, did you see that!?" Yosuke yelled. "That was Yukiko-san for sure! It looked like her… I mean, she even said her name! But didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird?"

"Hell yeah…," I agreed.

"And she looked like she was on some low-budget T.V. show…. Was it like this before, too?" Yosuke continued. "What's going on?"

"Let's calm down for a sec," I said.

"Okay, okay," Yosuke said. "Um, um… we need to get in touch with Yukiko-san first! Uhh… crap, I don't know her number…. Oh yeah, I can just call Chie! Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's meet up at Junes first thing in the morning!"

"Yeah," I agreed. We hung up. I finished my snack and went to bed.

* * *

**A/N: Woo! A short one! I just got this new game and... I'm playing it right now... which is why I'm not uploading as fast as before. Heh heh... sorry. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ^_^**


	9. Yukiko's Missing?

**Sunday, 4/17 (Early Morning)**

I stared at my choice of clothes, wondering what I should wear. I decided to go with my usual: a t-shirt and sweatpants. I put on a thin jacket and headed downstairs.

"Oh, good morning," Nanako greeted.

"'Morning," I said, stretching. "Where's your dad?"

"He left already. He said he's gonna be late," she explained, looking kinda sad.

"Oh…," I mumbled. If I leave, then Nanako's gonna be all alone in the house…. But I need to meet up with the others today.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked. "I'll be fine by myself." She turned on the television. "The sun's gonna come out. I should do some laundry." After a few seconds, she turned to me. "Uh… weren't you going somewhere?"

"Huh? Oh. Right," I stuttered, rubbing my neck. I went outside.

I glanced around the food court in Junes, trying to find a good seat. I finally decided to sit at the table near the center. Yosuke ran up to me a few minutes later, hands behind his back.

"Sorry for the holdup," he apologized, panting. "I found some stuff we can use in the closet at home." He held up two weapons. A nata and a katana, both of them sheathed. "Take a look at these!" he said with a wink.

"Uh… Yosuke…," I began, glancing around nervously.

"We've got our Personas, but a golf club's not that reliable of a weapon," he interrupted blithely.

"Uh Yosuke," I said, "I don't think you should be waving those around here…." He ignored me.

"So, which one strikes you fancy?" he asked, grinning widely. I studied the weapons.

"The katana," I finally answered. "But—"

"Ahh, you've got discerning taste," Yosuke praised, interrupting me again. "This is a Junes exclusive. The blade's fake though." I sighed in relief. "As for me… wait, maybe both would be good, too. Kinda like this?" He waved the swords around, making some odd kung-fu moves. "Or like this!?" He slashed the air with the swords. "What about this!?" He continued to wave the fake weapons around. I glanced around and spotted a police officer.

"Yosuke!" I warned. He stopped and looked at me, confused. I nodded towards the police officer.

"Two suspicious high-schoolers found, one male and one female. The male is armed with multiple weapons. Requesting immediate backup," the police officer said into his transceiver and ran over. I stood up, panicked.

"Huh? Oh crap, I mean—" Yosuke stammered.

"I didn't do anything!" I protested loudly, waving my arms in front of me.

"No…. no no no no, this isn't what it looks like!" Yosuke yelled. "We didn't steal it! I guess that's not what matters…. Anyways we're not doing anything bad!"

"I was just sitting here!" I explained. "I didn't do anything!"

"We're just two ordinary kids who like weapons and…. Ugh, that doesn't sound right either," he muttered. He chuckled nervously.

"Put the weapons down now!" the officer ordered. "We'll listen to your story at the station." I glared at Yosuke. "Hands where I can see them, too! I said now!" I hastily put my hands up. Yosuke did the same, waving them around.

"B-but this isn't—" he began.

"Are you resisting an officer of the law!?" the officer exclaimed. "Y-you're under arrest!"

"He was just showing you that they're fake!" I yelled. More police officers came up and surrounded us. I sighed._ Why does this have to happen to me…?_ They took us to the police station.

"You didn't seem the type to pull a stupid stunt like this," Dojima said. I sighed. We were in front of the negotiation room. "You know what's been going on around town. We got men stationed everywhere." I sighed again.

"For god's sake… you're lucky I was around, or this would have ended up on your permanent record," Dojima continued.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, looking at the floor. "It was mostly this guy's fault, though," I said, pointing to Yosuke.

"Oh c'mon!" he protested. "Well… I'm sorry, too." I groaned. We didn't have the weapons anymore. Two men walked past us.

"Wait, so the one that disappeared is the Amagi girl?" the plainclothes one asked._ What!?_

"Seems like it…," the police officer said. He said some other stuff, but I didn't pay attention. My eyes widened.

"Hey!" Yosuke whispered. "Did he say Amagi? Then… she really is…."

"No…," I muttered in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me, right?"

"Hm? Who's what now?" Dojima inquired, confused.

"Oh, uh, nothing," Yosuke replied hastily. We looked at each other.

"You're free to go," Dojima said. "But this better not happen again." We nodded and started to walk out. We bumped into that detective… Adachi, was that it?

"Pardon me," he muttered, looking up. "Huh? Aren't you that kid staying at Dojima-san's place?" I nodded.

"Oh! Uh, can we ask you something?" Yosuke asked. "It's about Yukiko Amagi of the Amagi Inn. Did something happen to her?"

"Oh, umm," Adachi said. "Am I allowed to say…? Well, if you're friends with Ms. Amagi… keep this between us, okay? We got a call from Ms. Amagi's parents yesterday evening saying they couldn't find her anywhere."_ What?_ "Since it was the weekend, the workers at the inn were extremely busy, and no one saw Ms. Amagi around that time. Oh, but that doesn't necessarily mean this is a case just yet! But, people've been turning up dead on foggy days, so we're really sensitive to stuff like this. By the way, did she say anything to you guys maybe going through some hard times?"

"Uh… hard times?" Yosuke inquired. Adachi started to talk again. I tuned him out. Man, he talks a lot…. Dojima called to Adachi angrily and he rushed to him. We glanced at each other and walked to the entrance.

"Hey… does that detective think that Yukiko-san—" Yosuke began. Chie ran up to us.

"There you are!" she yelled. "Sheesh, what're you guys doing!? I've been looking everywhere!"

"Well, there was a slight misunderstanding… we'll tell you about it later," Yosuke explained briefly.

"Yeah… a 'slight misunderstanding' that brought us to the police station," I muttered, glancing sideways at him.

"Anyways, something's up with Yukiko-san!" he yelled.

"Huh? You know already!?" Chie asked. "I kept calling her cell, but she didn't pick up! So I went to her house, and it turns out Yukiko really did disappear!"

"I guess we've got no choice but to go now," said Yosuke. "But that aside, the cops are saying some weird stuff. They think Yukiko-san's hiding to 'lay low'. Apparently Yukiko-san's mom collapsed because that announcer lady b****ed her out. They think that gives her a motive. And the fact that the announcer died right after makes her even more suspicious."

"What!?" Chie yelled. "They think Yukiko did it!? What the hell's wrong with them!?"

"Dude don't snap at me!" Yosuke yelled. "Yukiko's the victim here, dammit, not the suspect…."

"Let's calm down and save her," I said.

"Right! That's the important thing!" Chie shouted, seemingly... "beary" pumped up.

"With the police totally on the wrong track, we've gotta handle it ourselves," Yosuke said. I nodded.

"I'm going, too!" Chie yelled. "And that's final! I'm going to save Yukiko, no matter what!"

"Are you gonna be alright?" he asked. "But man… they just confiscated our weapons. We can't go in empty-handed."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Weapons? I know just the place!" Chie said.

"Really?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"C'mon! Follow me!" she said, jogging out of the station. Yosuke and I glanced at each other and ran after her.

We were in this… antique store. It was fairly dark in here. I saw a forge of some sort in the back of the store. There were weapons and armor on the racks.

"Here we are!" announced Chie.

"What kinda shop is this?" Yosuke inquired in disbelief.

"A metalworks, I guess?" Chie suggested. "They sell all sorts of metal crap, like katanas and stuff."

"Doesn't that seem weird to you? Why would you know about a place like this anyway?" Yosuke asked. "Oh, I get it. You watched one too many kung-fu movies, and—"

"It's not that at all!" Chie protested, glaring at him. "I overheard some guys in our class talk about it. They said this place sells weapons and armor." She walked over to a vest. "Here, this one looks good. But it might be too heavy…."

"I dunno, Chie," Yosuke said. "I still think it's too dangerous. I know how you feel, but—"

"You don't!" Chie yelled. "You don't know s*** about how I feel! Yukiko might die from this, for crying out loud! I'm going, and that's that!"

"Fine," I said. "But stay behind us and_ be careful._"

"Psh! I'll be fine!" she said. "My reflexes are second to none!"

"Listen! I'm not kidding around," Yosuke said. "You don't know what it's like in there! If you're not gonna listen to our warnings, we're leaving you here! If you insist on coming, just make sure you have something to protect yourself."

"Alright…," she said reluctantly.

"But man, what should we get?" he asked, coming to me. "Hey, Misaki-chan. Mind picking out something for me, too?" He grinned.

"Wh-what?" I stammered, backing up a little. I glanced away. "I don't know what kinda stuff you like…."

"That doesn't matter," he said. His face was a little red. "You're our main asset in battle right now, so I think you should choose whatever makes it easiest for you."

"U-um…. Okay," I finally replied. He gave me 5000 yen. I walked around, studying the armor and weapons.

"I got my stuff all picked out!" Chie announced, grinning. "How about you two?"

"You know… if we wear this stuff around town, we'll just get picked up again," said Yosuke. "But it's not like we can waltz into Junes with a sack full of gear and expect no one to notice, either."

"Why not conceal them under our uniforms?" suggested Chie. "I don't think people would notice."

"Okay… let's try that," Yosuke replied. "Alright, let's split up and get ready. The store'll be crowded until the afternoon sale ends, and if we walk around together, the cops might get suspicious."

"Then I'll see you guys at the Junes food court!" Chie said. I nodded and walked to the counter. I bought an Imitation Katana for myself and a Hunting Nata for Yosuke. Then I got Chain Mail for the both of us. I gave the stuff to Yosuke and we split up.

I walked south a few steps and a blue door appeared next to me, against the wall. Some people walked by it without a second glance. No one seems to notice it….

_So it finally begins,_ a familiar voice said in my head. _Now if you'll give me a moment of your time…._ The Velvet Key in my pocket was shining. I walked over to the door and touched it.

I found myself in the Velvet Room. Igor and Margaret were there, but there was another person there. A girl with short black hair. She wore black-and-white striped pants and long boots. She wore a red skirt and white shirt. She sported a black tie and a blue hat. Slung on her shoulder was a blue bag of some sort.

"We have been expecting you," Igor said, giving me his creepy smile. I shuddered. "The catastrophe that is headed your way…. It has already taken human lives in its approach towards you. But you have nothing to fear. You already have the power to fight against it. It seems that the time for you to use your Persona has come." He chuckled, sending chills down my spine.

"Your Persona ability is that of the Wild Card," Margaret explained unhelpfully, for I had no idea what it meant. "If you strengthen your bonds properly, their power will help you overcome any ordeal. Our role is to facilitate that."

"My contribution," said Igor, "is to give birth to new Personas." I tried to picture him "giving birth to Personas." I shook my head to clear the unnecessary thoughts before they went too far. "By mixing together multiple Persona cards, I can transmute them into a new form," he continued. I stared at him, although I knew it was rude. Does he ever stop smiling? "This, in other words, is the fusion of Personas," he said. "You have the power to hold multiple Personas and use them accordingly." Another thought popped into my head. How did his nose get so long? "When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility you attain will appear before you as cards," he explained. "At times, they may be hard to grasp… but you must master your fear and reach out to them. When you obtain new cards, please do not hesitate to bring them here. If you have been developing your Social Links, then your Persona will gain even more power. They will be one of your chief sources of strength. You would do well to take this to hear." Well… I did recall the Magician Social Link thingy with Yosuke…. I sighed, trying to get everything he told me straight. It seems that when a Persona of the... the same Arcana that I have a Social Link with, it'll gain more power.

Igor and Margaret glanced at each other.

"The tome you see in my hand is the Persona Compendium," Margaret explained. "Registering the Personas you hold will allow you to recall them at any time. Please see me when you wish to use it. Oh, and one more thing. I would like to introduce a new resident of the Velvet Room, who will be helping you on your journey." The girl and I studied each other. _Wait a sec…._ She looked like the girl I had bumped into before at the station my first day here! What's she doing here?

"Marie?" Margaret asked.

"Yeah, I can hear," the girl scoffed. "Nice to meet you." _She's kinda mean...,_ I thought.

"Well… uh… I think we've meet somewhere before," I said. Actually, I was sure of it, but… I didn't feel like saying that.

"Oh. Maybe. That'd explain why you're so familiar," she replied. "Hmm."

"Excuse her," Margaret said. "This is Marie. Her soul is still very young, and—"

"Shut up!" Marie interrupted. "Don't tell her any more about me than you need to."

"…As you can see," Margaret said flatly. "She may be brusque at times, but please understand that she is only an apprentice and forgive her for her impoliteness."

"Um… okay," I replied.

"Marie will be dealing with 'Skill Cards'," she continued. "Using these cards will allow you to provide your Personas with new powers. Also, I am sure she will help you form a bond between yourself and the 'outside world'. Marie will contact you at a later date. Please feel free to speak with her here when you wish to use her services." I nodded. Igor chuckled.

"Do you recall my words to you before?" he inquired, that creepy smile still glued onto his face. Doesn't he get tired of smiling? Maybe he stops smiling when I leave the room. "'The coming year is a turning point in your destiny…. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost'," he recited._ How the hell did he remember that? I can barely remember the last thing I had said…._ "I meant precisely what I said," he continued. "Defeat in battle is not the only way your journey may come to an end. Please do not forget this. When next we meet, you will come here of your own will. I look forward to it."

"I don't...," I muttered quietly to myself.

"Until then… farewell," he said. I exited the Velvet Room.

I sighed. What a whole bunch of food for thought!

I went home so that I could change and put on my armor. I glanced at my uniform and hesitated. After a few seconds I grabbed my t-shirt and sweatpants and put it on. I grabbed my katana and stared at it._ How the hell am I supposed to sneak in there with_ this_!?_ I sighed and placed it in a bag, hoping people wouldn't notice. Then I headed to Junes.

I walked over to Chie and Yosuke. They both stood up.

"We really stick out," Yosuke muttered. He had his natas strapped to his either side of his hips in sheathes. "Guess it doesn't help that we're in our school unifroms on a Sunday."

"At least—you are," I said.

"Why aren't you in your uniform?" Chie asked.

"Because I don't like fighting in a skirt," I replied shortly.

"Anyway the sale should end soon," Yosuke interrupted. "That'll get rid of some of the people wandering around here. Alright, let's get going." He turned to Chie. "Chie, it's not too late to—"

"I'm going!" she replied angrily.

"Fine, but don't push yourself, got it?" he said.

I nodded. We went into the electronics department and went into the T.V.

* * *

**A/N: Woo! Another chapter! *sigh* This is part 1 of the whole day. I'm going to add some battle scenes in the next chapter. Look forward to it!**


	10. Chie's Shadow

Teddie was in a corner, grabbing his head and shaking it back and forth slowly. I took out my glasses and put them on.

"What, it really is that bear from last time," remarked Chie.

"What're you doing?" asked Yosuke.

"Can't you tell? I'm thinking about stuff," Teddie replied sadly._ Was he thinking about himself all this time?_ "I've been deli-bear-ating it for a long time now," he continued. "Hey, that wasn't a bad joke." He chuckled as Yosuke groaned.

"So did you figure anything out?" he inquired. "Eh, it's probably useless to think about it too much. I've seen the inside of your skull, and it was empty." Teddie stomped over to Yosuke and glared at him.

"How rude!" he exclaimed. "You're right, though. I try and try but nothing comes out of my head."

"Will you guys shut up!?" Chie yelled, waving her arms around. "Now's not the time for jokes! Listen… someone came here yesterday, right?"

"Wow! There's a girl with a better nose than me!?" exclaimed Teddie. "What's your name, Miss?"

"'Miss'?" Chie repeated, scratching her head. "Uh, I'm Chie. But never mind that! Tell me more about that 'someone'!"

"I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys," Teddie explained. "After that, it felt like someone was here."

"Is it Yukiko-san!?" Yosuke demanded.

"I don't know. I haven't looked," Teddie replied. He turned around and pointed. "The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are."

"Over there, huh?" Chie said. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yeah!" Yosuke answered. We ran to the destination as fast as we could.

"What the…? A castle!?" Chie exclaimed, gaping at the huge thing in front of us. "Y'think this is the place they showed on T.V. last time!?"

"Yeah," I said, studying the castle. It was brownish, and it looked like your everyday fairy tail castle.

"You're positive that no one's behind a camera for that bizarre midnight program?" Yosuke asked Teddie.

"'Program'? I don't know," Teddie replied. "Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be like that. And I told you before! There's only me and Shadows here! There's no 'camera' stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning."

"'From the beginning'?" Yosuke repeated. "That's what we don't understand!"

"I dunno…. Can you guys explain everything about your world?" Teddie asked. "I've never seen this 'program' thingy before, so I don't know," he continued.

"Well is that really what's happening?" Chie asked. "Are we really looking into this world? Because the first time Yukiko showed up on the midnight channel was before she disappeared. Doesn't that seem off? I mean, Yukiko saying stuff like 'score myself a hot stud'? That's not like her at all!"

"'Score'? 'Stud'?" Teddie repeated, obviously confused. The others continued to talk about Yukiko on the Midnight Channel.

"I think that 'program' happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that," said Teddie.

"So Yukiko is producing that show herself?" Chie exclaimed. "I don't get this at all!"

"Do you feel her presence from inside?" I asked Teddie.

"I'm pretty sure," he replied. "So, um… what's this 'scoring with a hot stud' thing?"

"Yukiko's here…," Chie muttered, turning to the castle. "I'm going on ahead!"

"What!?" I yelled as she ran off.

"Hey, wait! Don't go alone!" Yosuke called after her. She ignored us. "Geez, we better follow her," he muttered.

"Yeah," I said.

"There's a lot of Shadows inside the castle…," Teddie muttered nervously. "Oh! I almost forgot! Here, take this." He handed me some Revival Beads, Peach Seeds, and Soul Drops. "Well, off you go," he said.

"Thanks, Teddie," I said. I faced the castle and took my sword out of the bag. I strapped it onto my back. "Let's do this." We charged in.

The inside was huge. The floor was checkered. On top of it was a red carpet.

"The Shadows got aggravated since you two went in!" Teddie yelled, cowering behind us. I sighed. "Uh, try to attack them before they do!" I nodded and looked at Yosuke.

"Who's gonna take point?" I asked.

"You are," he replied immediately.

"What!?" I exclaimed. I was not used to being in charge of things. I studied Yosuke's face and sighed. "Fine…." I mumbled. I ran down the hallway and pushed open the first door I saw. The double door was gold and about three times as tall as me and twice as wide as me. I unsheathed my sword and ran down the hallway.

It zig-zagged a bit and led us to another door. I pushed it open to find a room. In the center was a red rug the covered much of the room. There was a treasure chest in it. I opened it and grabbed the thing inside it. A Snuff Soul.

We ran out and continued down the hall, opening doors.

In one room, we saw a black blob thing, most likely a Shadow.

"Let's get it," whispered Yosuke. I nodded and ran into the room, striking the Shadow from behind. A huge puff of black smoke exploded from it. The smoke cleared, revealing three Shadows._ What? I swear there was only one!_ They were the sphere things with mouths. Only this time, they were white. I ran around and struck the one on the left. It recoiled, then attacked me. Jumping back, I used Zio on it. It dodged it and struck me. I somehow parried its tongue and countered it. The Shadow rushed at me and hit me with its tongue really hard. I fell back and landed on my ass. I quickly summoned Izanagi and used Zio. This time, it struck the Shadow, making it fall down. I quickly got up and attacked it until it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Yosuke destroyed the other one. I used Zio on the last one and if fell down.

"Let's do this!" I yelled, charging the Shadow. Yosuke ran in with me, and we attacked the monster. A few seconds later, it disappeared in a puff of smoke. I smiled, satisfied. "A successful first battle!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Yosuke agreed, fist pumping. Suddenly, tarot cards appeared in front of my eyes. I heard Igor's voice echo in my head.

_When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility you attain will appear before you as cards,_ he said._ At times, they may be hard to grasp, but you must master your fear and reach out to them._ The cards stopped swirling around and settled in front of me and flipped over. One was a Persona that looked like a slime. The other one had a picture on it. An eye was at the bottom, under a lantern thing. There was a Roman numeral under the eye: IX. I chose the slime thing, knowing that I needed to fill out the Persona Compendium or whatever it was. I felt Slime (the Persona) enter my heart area. The cards disappeared.

I felt something different. I searched through my Personas and saw that Izanagi learned Rakunda, a defense-lowering spell.

Yosuke was staring at me.

"You all right?" he asked, coming closer to me.

"I'm fine," I said. "Why?"

"You were just staring into space or something."

"Oh… uh… it was… some weird thing. Nothing to worry about," I assured him. "Let's go."

We went up the stairs we found in a room.

The second floor had a door right in front of us. We walked up to the door.

"There she is!" Teddie exclaimed. "Chie-san is in there!" I breathed deeply, calmed my nerves, and pushed open the door.

It was a gigantic room. There was a huge red square carpet in the middle. Chie stood there, not moving.

"Chie! Are you all right!?" Yosuke called as we ran up to her. She didn't respond. "Chie?"

"She said that red looks good on me…." Yukiko's voice echoed throughout the room.

"Yukiko-san!?" Yosuke yelled, looking around.

"I hated my name," the voice continued. "Yukiko… 'Snow'…. Snow is cold and it melts quickly. It's transient…. Worthless. But it's perfect for me…. Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless. Still, Chie told me that red looks good on me."

"Are these… Yukiko-san's inner thoughts?" Yosuke asked. "I remember hearing Saki-senpai's, too…."

"Yeah," Teddie said. "This castle is probably here because of this Yukiko person."

"Yukiko…," muttered Chie.

"Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning," Yukiko's voice said. "She's bright and strong, and she can do anything…. She has everything that I don't. Compared to Chie, I'm… I'm…. Chie protects me… she looks after my worthless life. And I… I don't deserve any of it. Chie is so kind…."

"Yukiko, I…," Chie whispered, her face contorted in pain.

"'Chie is so kind,' huh? What a joke," another voice said. It sounded like Chie's with a deep undertone.

"What!?" exclaimed Chie, stepping back. Another Chie stepped out of the shadows. She was surrounded with a dark aura, much like the Shadow Yosuke.

"Oh man… is that…!?" Yosuke said. I unsheathed my sword, ready for the worst.

"It's just like Yosuke!" Teddie yelled. "She lost control over her suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!" Shadow Chie chortled.

"Are we talking about_ that_ Yukiko!?" she laughed. "She says I'm protecting her!? She says she's worthless." She laughed. "That's how it should be, right?"

"What're you saying!?" Chie yelled.

"Yukiko's soooooooo good looking… sooooo fair-skinned… sooooo feminine. She's the one all the guys drool over. When Yukiko looked at me with such jealously… man did I get a charge out of that. Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around. I'm better than her. Much, much better!"

"No! I have never thought that!" Chie yelled, glaring at the Shadow.

"What're we gonna do?" Yosuke asked, getting his knives ready.

"We need to protect Chie," I said, staring intently at her and her Shadow.

"Yeah!" Teddie agreed. We ran closer to her.

"No, don't come near me! Don't look at me!" Chie ordered unsuccessfully.

"Chie, calm down!" Yosuke yelled.

"No, no! This isn't me!" she shouted.

"Wait, stupid! Don't say anything else like that!" he shouted back. All the while, the Shadow looked on with a smile on her face. She laughed.

"That's right," she said. "I'm the one who can't do anything alone. I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person. I'm pathetic. But Yukiko… she depends on me. That's why she's my friend. I'll never loosen my grip on her. She's too important to me."

"No! That's not how I think of her!" Chie protested. Shadow Chie chuckled.

"So you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again?" she asked, smiling creepily. But things are different now. When the time comes, I'll be the one left standing. You won't mind, right? I'm still you!"

"Shut up!" Chie yelled. "You're…"

"Chie, no!" Yosuke shouted.

"You're not me!" she screamed. Shadow Chie laughed evilly. The aura around her turned black and black stuff flooded into her. After everything cleared, revealing a woman in a banana mask. She had tall yellow boots on. She sat on top of girls. Her black hair was suuuper long. In her hand was a whip. Chie cried out.

"Chie!" Yosuke yelled.

"It's coming! You have to use your powers to save Chie-chan!" Teddie yelled. I ran backwards, away from the Shadow.

"I am a Shadow… the true self!" Shadow Chie yelled. She cracked her whip. "What do you guys think you're doing? Trying to defend the 'real' me!? Then you're gonna pay the price!"

"Shut up!" Yosuke shouted, running around her. "Quite being such a pain! Chie, just hand in there a little longer!"

"Hah! Think you can stop me that easy!?" Shadow Chie taunted. I summoned Izanagi and used Rakunda on her. A small purple sphere shrunk on the Shadow and disappeared. A small green tornado formed where she was and vanished. She fell down. Yosuke and I charged at her, slashing repeatedly. I backed away, motioning Yosuke to do the same. Shadow Chie got up and yelled, "Looks like you won't understand without a little pain!" She used Mazio (the multi-target electricity spell. Hits all enemies). I dodged it, but Yosuke got hit, and fell down. The Shadow whipped Yosuke, and he cried out in agony. I ran towards him and helped him up. As I did that, Shadow Chie made a green shield thingy and it disappeared. Izanagi flew to the Shadow and slashed at her. Yosuke used Garu (the wind spell) again, but to no avail. She didn't fall down. She laughed.

"How lame!" she taunted. "You're all so deadly serious, and we've only gotten started!" She used Mabufu (a multi-target ice spell). An ice cube about the size of my chest formed and broke, forcing me back. Yosuke used Dia (a healing spell) on me, and I felt a little better.

"Thanks!" I called as I charged towards the Shadow. She whipped the ground in front of me, forcing me to stop. Izanagi rushed in and attacked her, slashing at her face. While she was blinded, I decided to switch Personas. A tarot card appeared in my hand as Izanagi faded. I flipped it over and the card disappeared.

"Slime!" I yelled, smashing the tarot card.

"What!?" Yosuke exclaimed. "You can use more than one Persona!? No fair!"

I ran up to the Shadow. It appeared in front of me and used smashed into Shadow Chie. She recoiled and I used that instant to attack her. I slashed at her a few times, cutting part of her hair and boot. I jumped back as Yosuke ran in, using Garu. Then his Persona, Jiraiya, attacked her face. I switched Personas again, back to Izanagi. I used Zio and she fell, black smoke flooding out from her. When the smoke cleared, we saw a girl laying on the floor.

We ran to Chie. She slowly got up, groaning.

"Chie! Are you okay!?" Yosuke asked worriedly.

"What happened?" she asked. She looked up and saw her other self. Shadow Chie was standing now. "What's the matter? Got nothing to say anymore?"

"Stop it, Chie. It's all right," Yosuke said. Chie turned to us.

"But," she began.

"Everyone's like that," I said patiently. "We all have another side that we don't want people to see."

"Everyone…?" she repeated quietly.

"She's right…. I went through the same thing," Yosuke muttered. "So I can understand. I mean… everyone has a side like this." Chie turned around and walked up to her Shadow. I sheathed my sword.

"Yeah… I kinda get it now," she said. "You are me…. A side of me I couldn't forgive. That I tried to ignore. But you still exist. You're a part of me." Shadow Chie nodded and turned into a Persona. It wore a tight yellow shirt and pants. Around its waist is some kind of armor. It had a helmet on, the top of it really long. Its long black hair flowed out from under the helmet. In its hand was a naginata.

The Persona disappeared and the fire flowed into Chie's heart. We walked to Chie.

"I…. Um, it's true that part of me feels that way," Chie admitted. "But I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko!"

"Like we didn't know that already," Yosuke said. Chie fell on her knees.

"Chie!" I cried out.

"I'm okay… just a little tired," she muttered.

"'A little'?" I asked, kneeling next to her. I slung her arm around my neck and stood up, bringing her with me.

"You don't look okay at all," remarked Yosuke. "And I bet… you can use the same power we have now."

"Huh?" she asked, looking at Yosuke.

"What should we do?" he asked, glancing at me.

"We should go back," I said.

"I agree. We need to let Chie rest," he said.

"I never said I needed a break!" protested Chie. "I can still keep going." She started for the door, taking her arm off of my neck.

"No you can't," I said curtly, sighing.

"Don't overdo it!" Teddie yelled, blocking her path.

"It's not that we don't think you can," Yosuke explained. "It's just—we have to save Yukiko-san no matter what. Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back. That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup."

"But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she!?" Chie cried. "If those were Yukiko's true feelings… then I have to tell her something. I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me. Because we were always together, I was able to act the way. If we weren't, I'd…."

"Well, you need to get your strength back!" Teddie said. "Then you can tell her! Yuki-chan's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people. They only when the fog lifts here."

"So Yukiko-san will be safe until then, right?" Yosuke asked.

"I'm positive!" he replied.

"Why? I don't get it," Chie said bluntly.

"Teddie told us that the weather here is the opposite of our own world," Yosuke explained. "When if fogs over in our world…. That's the day it lifts here, and that's when the Shadows attack their victim. So even if we leave for a while, Yukiko-san won't be in danger until the fog starts to cover Inaba. I'm sure of it. It was the same way for that announcer and Senpai."

"You mean, they were killed by their other selves?" she asked.

"The fog usually appears after it rains," he said. "But it's been sunny lately. I don't think it's going to rain anytime soon. Don't worry so much. We'll check the weather forecast first thing when we get back."

"But I can't turn back now!" Chie protested. "We've come so far!" I sighed, exasperated. "Yukiko's still here! She's all alone…. She must be so scared!"

"God dang it, Chie!" I yelled, feeling impatient and slightly angry. "If we go now, we'll all die! You can barely move and Yosuke and I had to fight that huge Shadow! We're all exhausted! If we're gonna go, then tell me how much further we gotta go to reach Yukiko-san!"

"Th-that's…!" Chie began.

"GOD!" I shouted. I stomped off, away from Chie. I took deep breaths, trying to get my anger under control. Yosuke talked to Chie for a bit.

"Hey Misaki!" Yosuke called, and waved me over. I walked over to them.

"I'm sorry about before," Chie apologized. "I shouldn't have rushed in like that by myself." I sighed and gave her a small smile.

"Let's go together next time, then," I said.

"No worries," Yosuke said. "We're definitely gonna save Yukiko-san, right?"

"Right!" agreed Chie. We went back to the entrance.

"I'm feeling even worse than the last time I came in here," Chie complained. "My head feels like it's gonna split open. Are you guys okay?" I grinned.

"It's thanks to these," I said, pointing to my glasses. Speaking of which, they start to hurt. I took mine off.

"That's right, you're not wearing the glasses," Yosuke said. Chie stared at them.

"Oh yeah… what's with those glasses?" she asked. "Did your eyesight go bad?"

"Man, you didn't notice until now? How panicked were you?" Yosuke asked.

"Tum de dummm!" Teddie sang. "I got a pair ready for Chie-chan, too. Here you go!" He handed her a pair. They were yellow and kinda rounded. And like all of the glasses he'd made, it had the rainbow strip on the side.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, looking around. "This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't exist!"

"Why didn't you whip those out earlier if you had them?" inquired Yosuke.

"I made them right now!" Teddie explained impatiently. "You didn't tell me she was coming! It was all so sadden! I mean, sudden!"

"Wait," I said. "You made them just_ now_!?" He nodded. How did he make them so fast?

"Huh, so that's the trick," Chie mused. "I was wondering how you guys could see where you were going. Hey is it alright if I keep these?"

"Fo' sho!" Teddie replied happily.

"We'll have to stop here today, but I'll be back with these puppies," Chie said. "You guys better not come here without me, got it!?"

"Yeah, let's all promise each other," Yosuke said. "Nobody goes in alone. It's way too dangerous. If we don't work together, we won't be able to solve this case or save Yukiko-san, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed. I'm a cooperative person, so I really like teamwork.

"Yeah, I agree," Chie said. "I promise, too."

"Let's solve the case, then!" I yelled, fist pumping.

"Alright, so from tomorrow on, we'll try and come here as much as we can after school. And that includes days off," Yosuke said. "Misaki-chan… would you mind being our leader?"

"What!?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"You were the first to get this power," he explained, "and you're way better in a fight than either of us. I think it's best for all of us if you set the pace of the investigation, and we follow your lead. I'm cool playing second banana." I hesitated for a while.

"…. Okay," I finally replied. "But you guys are gonna have to help me, got it? I'm not made to be a leader, so if I do something wrong, get me back on track, okay?"

"Got it," he replied. "We're counting on you, Misaki-chan. I mean, I'm more the advisor type, y'know? An ideas man, not an executive."

"I'm with Yosuke," Chie said. "If you're the one calling the shots, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about this."

"I'm with Yosuke too," Teddie said. "If you're the one calling the shots, my pillow will be a lot more comfortable at night."

"Teddie, would you please stop talking?" Chie said. "I'm really on edge right now."

"Guys," I said seriously. "I'm more of a follower than a leader. I know for a fact that I'll screw up somewhere. You guys better keep an eye on me, you hear? I don't want to mess things up." They all nodded.

Everything stopped. A card appeared in front of me and flipped over, showing a silhouette of a man walking with a dog. The man was holding a stick with a bag at the end of it.

_Thou art I... and I am thou..._

_Thou has established a new bond._

_It brings thee closer to the truth._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana._

Everything came back to life.

"Okay," Yosuke said, as if nothing happened. "Let's get some rest for today so we're ready for tomorrow on. And don't forget to check the weather forecast. It gets foggy after a lot of rain, so let's keep an eye out. Also, let's make sure we gear up for next time."

"Seems like Yosuke's the one calling the shots, not me," I muttered. Yosuke heard me.

"Oh. Sorry," he apologized, chuckling. We went out of the T.V. and went home.

I sat at the coffee table, eating dinner with Dojima and Nanako. Dojima was quiet, with a stern expression on his face.

"Hey," he muttered. "Mind if I ask you something? You aren't getting involved with any strange business, are you…? What happened at the station this afternoon… it's still bothering me. Is there… anything you're not telling me?"

"It's nothing important," I replied. I immediately felt guilty. I hated lying to my uncle… but I had no choice. He won't believe any of it.

"I'll be the judge of that," he said. "Well, it's just been nagging at me, that's all."

"What's wrong?" Nanako asked, looking worried. "Are you fighting?"

"No… we're not having a fight," Dojima said.

"This isn't the police station," his daughter said.

"I agreed to look after you," he said. "So don't get yourself involved in anything that could get you into trouble. Got that?" I nodded.

The weather was on. It seems that it's gonna be sunny for a while. We continued eating our dinner. After we finished, I went over to the refrigerator, looking for a snack. There was some fried rice. I stared at it. I decided to eat it. It tasted like nothing. After that, I went into my room. I was about to go to bed when Nanako called me.

"The phone!" she called. I went back downstairs.

"It's me, Morooka," said the man on the other side. I tried not to groan. "I have something that I've prepared just for you. I was going to deliver it to your house, but the situation's changed. I need you to come pick it up."

"So…. Uh… where are you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Er, where am I? I was getting to that!" he yelled. I moved the phone away from my ear. "I am in the front of the gas station at the shopping district. You got that? Now hurry up and come pick it up!" He hung up. I sighed and talked to Dojima about it and he let me go. I hurried to the designated place.

King Moron was yelling at a female student. I waited until they were finished. And walked up to him. He gave me the Yasogami High Jersey. I hurried back home.

I told Dojima what happened quickly and went to bed, feeling really tired from the day in the T.V.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! First dungeon! My friend kept pestering me to upload the new chapter. *sigh* Well here it is! Hope you enjoyed it and feel free to critique me at any time! :D**


	11. A Girl Who's Not of Man

**Monday, 4/18 (Early Morning)**

"I wonder how Chie's doing," Yosuke remarked as I sat down at my desk in school. "Too much stuff happened yesterday. I hope she's back to her usual self."

"Yeah," I muttered, taking out my pencil. Chie walked in and came over to us.

"Oh, mornin'," she greeted, waving.

"D'you sleep well?" I asked, taking out my notebook.

"Yep," she replied with a small smile. "I was out cold until this morning."

"That's good to hear," I said, stretching. She glanced at both of us nervously, then scratched her head.

"…Thanks for everything yesterday," she said. "It's kinda embarrassing, ya know? You two were right there to see my hidden feelings and all…."

"Don't sweat it," replied Yosuke.

"The same thing happened to Yosuke right?" Chie asked. "So… what was it like?"

"Huh? Uh… how should I put this…?" he mumbled. "Oh! I nearly forgot! None of that happened when yours awakened, huh? Hmm… could that be because you got nothing to hide?" I shrugged.

"Oh. So nothing happened for you?" she asked. "I gotta agree that you seem like a pretty open girl. There's a funny air around you. I dunno. I guess that's what draws people to you, or something like that."

"Uh… thanks?" I said, not knowing if that was a compliment.

"Anyways, what's most important right now is to rescue Yukiko," Chie said. "I'm dead set on coming. Remember, you promised."

"I got it, I got it," I replied. I looked straight into her eye. "I don't break my promises." The bell rang.

"Oh crap!" Yosuke yelled. "I still haven't gone to the bathroom!" He ran off.

"Hey, um," Chie said. "Thanks for saving me…." She gave me a small smile. "I feel like you won't let me down…."

Everything froze. The card it showed this time had a picture of a knight sitting on a carriage (like—the one for kings and stuff). Lions were pulling it.

_Thou art I... and I am thou..._

_Thou has established a new bond._

_It brings thee closer to the truth._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Chariot Arcana._

Everything came back to life. Then I realized that I didn't have Chie's contact info.

"Uh, Chie?" I said. "Uh, what's your phone number? I think I'll need it if something comes up and I need to call you or something."

"Oh, right. You'll need this from now on, huh?" she said. We exchanged cell numbers. "We have to be careful of the fog that sets in after the rain, right? Let's save her before that happens!"

"Yeah," I agreed.

**(Afternoon)**

Mr. Kondo, the P.E. teacher, was telling us that he was to teach English as well. I sighed. A P.E. teacher couldn't possibly teach proper English. He asked me a question about the alphabet: "What does the beta mean in alphabet?" I answered it easily: "beta." I sat back down and doodled on my paper.

**(After School)**

I stretched and packed my things. I realized that I hadn't really explored the school much. So, I decided to go upstairs, where the third-year students were.

Up here, I met this funky student with an afro.

"You're that second-year, right?" he asked. I was about to say "Yes" when he interrupted me. "Hey, why did I assume that? 'Cuz I know the ways of the woooorld. I don't know you, and you're coming up, so it's a 50-50 that you're a second-year! Deductive reasoning like whoa!"

"I didn't ask how you knew I was a—" I began before I was cut off again.

"Now I, the OG third-year, will challenge you, the second-year youngblood, with a riddle!" the funky student announced. "And no, it isn't because I'm try to avoid studying for the entrance exams! I'm just doing you a favor here, girly!"

"Dude, I didn't ask why you're doing thi—" I began before he interrupted.

"If you answer correctly, I will present you with a 'key'," he said. I sighed.

"Fine then," I said. "I accept your challenge!"

"Looks like your spirit is willing," he said loudly. "Let's see if your mind can vibe this! Riddle time!

"I'ma drop some stuff into two distinct categories. At the end you gotta drop the last item onto the proper category," he explained. "Can you dig it?" I nodded. "Red's group A. Grey's group B." I hesitated, trying to remember it.

"Okay," I said.

"White's puttin' it down for group A," he continued. "Orange has a group B tattoo." I tried to sear that into my mind, then nodded. "Green's A for sheezy. Pink's group B times infinity." I nodded after a moment. "Aight, so which group does 'black' belong to? A or B? Holla!" I rubbed my chin.

_Red, A. Grey, B,_ I remembered._ White, A. Orange, B. Green, A. Pink, B._

"…. Group A," I answered hesitantly.

"Oh yeah!" he yelled. "So tell me what all those items have in common! Give it to me!"

_Red, white, green, black,_ I recalled. A thought popped into my head.

"Aren't they the top 5 or 6 flag colors?" I asked.

"Yeah!" the student shouted. "Your mind is a beautiful thing and you are not letting it go to waste, yo! Way to be! Since you're down with vexillology, you knew that group A was four of the six most prevalent world flag colors. The other two to round out the top six are blue and yellow. I must say I wasn't expecting a second-year to have such a trenchant insight. But you have passed, and I now dub you my riddle sister. Here's a little sumthin' sumthin'!" He handed me three Chest Keys.

"Thank you," I said, bowing to him slightly. I placed them in my pocket and went down to the first floor. I considered exploring the rest of the school, but decided that I was too lazy to do it, so I left.

I went to Junes and wandered around the entrance, not knowing what to do. I walked past a housewife in farming clothes.

"Anyone interested in some fresh vegetables and seedlings for the garden?" she asked. "How about you, miss? I don't have that many left. Right now, I can give you a few Tiny Soul Tomatoes for 800 yen. How about it?"

"Uh… sure," I replied, getting my wallet out so that I could pay her. She gave my three Tiny Soul Tomatoes and I handed her 800 yen. After a few minutes, I exited Junes.

I went to the central shopping district, making my way up to the shrine. I read the poster on the window of the book store.

"The following books are being released on 4/20! 'The Lovely Man' 1200 yen. The famous an series—now in stock! 'Expert Study Methods' 2800 yen. Get an edge over your classmates! 'Beginner Fishing' 1600 yen. Now you can be a fisher too!" the poster announced. Then I went into the Velvet Room, just because.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted. "Well, then…. I shall tell you about how I can offer you my 'assistance.' I can gather a number of Personas you possess and provide you with the ability to 'fuse' them." He continued to explain about summoning and registering Personas. Then he explained how to fuse Personas. A Normal Spread is a fusion of two Personas. A Triangle Spread is the fusion of three Persona. And basically, there are tons of fusion results. But each fusion only makes one Persona. And the Persona that's created through fusion can have additional power and "inherit" abilities from the Personas that are being fused. He said I should refer to the "Fusion Forecast" to "help ensure that your fusion results go as you desire."

Then Margaret explained the Persona Compendium. Basically, you can register Personas so that it appears on there. And you can update the info, like if your Persona learns a new ability or whatever. It can also be summoned, or bought, from the Compendium… somehow. I decided not to ask. But the stronger the Persona, the more you have to pay to summon it._ What the hell do they use the money for in here?_ I wondered, glancing around the room. Registering Personas is free, she says._ Yeah, it better be!_ After she was done explaining, I registered Izanagi.

Marie quickly explained about Skill Cards. Apparently, she could clone them, or something. I have to give them to her and she'll clone them. I'd lose the Skill Cards, but after that, I can buy as many Skill Cards as I liked. The prices, of course, would be different depending on the Skill Card's effect. I went out, then remembered something.

"You came," Marie said. "You must come here a lot, huh. Whatcha want this time? A Persona? A Skill Card? It doesn't matter to me."

"Excuse us," Margaret interjected. "Marie, you must learn to restrain yourself."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Marie asked. "Stupiduptightblockheadtwerp." Margaret sighed.

"I apologize sincerely. She is far too unruly for me to handle," Margaret muttered. I glanced at Marie.

"So, uh… why'd you bring her here?" I asked. Margaret chuckled.

"You speak as if her being her has nothing to do with you," she remarked. "This is all to help you on your journey."

"Huh?" I asked.

"This room is inseparable from your fate," she explained patiently. "Nothing in this room happens without purpose. It seems that you and Marie had already met before you encountered her in this room. Encountering one who is not of man, and communicating with her…. Your fate has led you to this meeting."

"'One who is not of man'?" I repeated, tilting my head to the side.

"Indeed," she replied. "This room is the crossroads of your fates. You, the customer, and she who is not of man, who has wandered into this place. Where will this meeting lead? Excuse me for saying so, but we, too are a bit interested in the outcome. Though she was in this land before you, in the end, Marie is not of man. In other words, her understanding of the world in which you live in is incomplete. Therefore, I ask of you to please take her outside this room, if you would. Okay, Marie? "

"Whatever," Marie mumbled. "Never mind." She looked pretty excited. I decided to take her out in a few minutes. I had other stuff to do first, so I left.

I went to Daidara and bought Chie some Platform Sneaks and Chain Mail. Then I went to the Shiroku Store and bought some Revival Beads, Goho-Ms, and Medicines. After my shopping spree, I went to a roulette machine and bought a Dr. Salt NEO for 120 yen. Then I won another drink from the roulette machine, so I chose the Second Maid for free. And then I won another prize, so I chose The Natural for free._ Yes!_ After that, I went to the shrine, popping open The Natural.

I walked past a boy who was yelling, "I really want some Dr. Salt NEO!" I stopped and brought out the drink he wanted from my bag and handed it to him.

"You're giving this to me? Really?" he asked. "My grandpa always says to thank people who give you things. Um, this is to show my thanks." He gave my two Tatsuhime Ladybugs.

"No problem," I said, giving him a small smile. Then I walked around the shrine for a bit and went back into the Velvet Room.

"So, uh, Marie?" I asked.

"What?" she demanded, giving me a sour look.

"You… uh… wanna hang out?" I mumbled, fidgeting.

"…Okay," she answered. "I want you to take me somewhere. It's small, it's dark, the Nose never says anything. It's stuffy in here." I tried not to laugh. "The Nose"?_ It's a perfect name for him!_ I thought, laughing silently to myself. The residents looked at me oddly.

"… Yeah," I managed to say after I got myself under control again.

"Uh… so, will you take me somewhere?" Marie asked.

"Sure," I replied, giving her a grin.

"Really!?" she exclaimed. "Well, let's go." And so we both went out.

We walked to Sozai Daigaku.

"Phew!" she said, taking in a deep breath. "I can finally breathe now. It's stuffy in that car."

"Yeah, I guess," I agreed.

"Y'know… I feel weird," she said, looking at me. "It's like… nostalgic, for the smell and all."

"Nostalgic?" I asked. "You've been here before?"

"Yeah, nostalgic," she replied. "That's what I said. It just… feels that way. There's a lot of stuff that I've never noticed before." She looked at Sozai Daigaku. "A 'Steak Skewer'?" she said, walking over to the counter.

"Hey, lady," she called. "I want one of those skewer things."

"Oh hello," the lady greeted happily. "That'll be 320 yen, please." Marie tried to say "320 yen," but failed.

"Thwee hunnert twin…," she muttered. I put my hands over my mouth, trying not to giggle. "That's hard to say," Marie remarked. "You can't eat without money?"

"You can't get anything without money," I replied. "The only things that are free are free samples and air." I chuckled. "So you really want to eat it? I can pay for it."

"You have money!?" she exclaimed. "That's awesome. You're awesome." Yosuke walked up to us.

"Yo, Misaki," he greeted. "Getting your steak on, huh?" He looked at Marie. "She's cute," he muttered. Then he glanced at me. "Uh, I mean, you're cute, too! Uh…." I burst out laughing. I hung out with guys more than I did girls at my old school, so I know how most of them act.

"Yosuke!" I laughed, wiping tears from my eyes. "You don't have to overreact! Dude, I don't care if you call her cute!" I laughed harder, hugging my stomach. It was just too funny seeing Yosuke, who was usually not like this around other girls, act like this whenever I'm around. He blushed a little bit.

"H-hey!" he protested. "I-I didn't know… uh…." I tried to stop laughing, but failed. After a few moments, I got myself under control.

"A-anyways, who's that?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"She's my friend," I answered.

"Friend…?" Marie repeated, looking surprised. "I guess… I don't know."

"I'm Yosuke Hanamura!" Yosuke introduced himself. "I'm her friend. Her partner, y'know." I nodded, glancing at Yosuke. It seems he didn't mind calling me his partner. Well... at least he's not blushing.

"Partner? You mean like a close friend?" Marie asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "What's your name?"

"Uh… Marie," she answered.

"Hmm, Marie-chan, is it?" Yosuke mused. "You want a steak skewer? All right, this one's on me!" He walked over to the counter.

"You mean you'll buy it for me?" Marie asked, looking more confused than ever. She turned to me. "Is that okay?"

"Well… there's no reason to turn it down," I replied.

"Hey, don't worry!" Yosuke assured her. "I got a little extra in my last paycheck. Three steak skewers! One for each of us."

"Oh my, business is booming!" the lady exclaimed happily. "Just a moment, please." We all took a steak skewer and started eating them. They were delicious! I sat down at the small table. Marie sat in front of me. Yosuke remained standing.

"Whew! Is that a bellyful or what!" Yosuke exclaimed. "This place always has huge portions. So, Marie-chan, what d'you think of the local specialty?"

"It's really weird," she answered. "It's tough, hard to bite into, and it god cold while I was still eating it. It was delicious."

"You didn't sound like you liked it at the beginning," I remarked, stretching my arms.

"But, all's well that ends well!" Yosuke said.

"Why's it called 'steak', anyway?" asked Marie. "Is it short for something?"

"Uh… it's short for… uh… 'steeeeeeaaaaaaaaaak'," I replied, trying to keep a straight face.

"That's stupid," she said. "Might as well just call it 'ake.' That's what I'm gonna do."

"That isn't much better," Yosuke muttered. He turned to me. "And you! Don't tell her lies! She's believing it!" I laughed.

"Can't I have just a little fun?" I asked with a large grin.

"I think you had too much fun already," he grumbled.

"You eat this every day?" Marie inquired. "No fair. I should've come earlier." She pouted. We continued to talk for a while before Yosuke had to leave because he had to get something from work.

"Your 'partner' is a funny person," she remarked.

"Yeah," I said. "That he is."

"But he bought me meat," she said. "That makes him a good person. That is fact." She smiled. I tried not to laugh._ "That makes him a good person. That is fact."_ I forced myself not to giggle. Marie stood up.

"Let's go somewhere else with a nice view," she said. So, I took her to the hill overlooking town. On the way there, she kept running off whenever my eyes left her, which made me pretty annoyed. No—super annoyed.

We finally arrived.

"It's really green here," she observed. "Green and… green. And some brown and… darker green?" She looked at the sky. "Leaves of green fly away. Farewell to you, clouds of the sky. I fly as well, lost as the day. Farewell to you, moon of the night." She was murmuring what seemed like a poem. A few seconds later, she abruptly stopped and looked at me.

"N-no! I-I wasn't making up a poem!" she shouted nervously. "It's just some words I was thinking! That's all!"

_Suuuurrrre,_ I thought sarcastically. She turned away, blushing fiercely.

"ShutupIhateyouyoustupidjerk!" she grumbled.

"I didn't say anyth—" I began.

"Don't snoop on me!" she shouted. Then she ran off again. I chased after her, sighing.

We were at a place overlooking the town.

"It's pretty big…," Marie observed. I nodded. "I don't know why," she continued, "but I feel good about this place. It reminds me of something. Are there any other places we can go? I want to see more."

"Sure," I replied, smiling at her.

"I notice a lot of things when I'm with you. It's pretty fun," she said,

Everything froze._ Again…?_ I thought, sighing. The card it showed this time was of a short, chubby bird-headed guy holding a staff. There was some kind of scarf going over him like a rainbow. The Roman numeral read: XX.

_Thou art I... and I am thou..._

_Thou has established a new bond._

_It brings thee closer to the truth._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Aeon Arcana._

_This is getting redundant…,_ I thought. Everything came back to life again.

"All right, next! Where to now?" Marie asked eagerly. I showed Marie around town, then escorted her back to the Velvet Room.

**(Evening)**

Dojima was not home today. I considered sneaking out, then decided against it. I stomped up the stairs to my room tiredly.

I wish I had a book so I could read it. I sighed and decided to go to bed.

I dreamed that Chie was chasing me around. It was really weird and heart-pounding, but I felt that I was a little closer to her.

* * *

**A/N: I just looked through all of my stories... and I realized that they were really long. -_- Tell me if you guys like long chapters. And please tell me if you see any mistakes, or if I can do anything to improve my writing. :D**


	12. The Sports Club

**Tuesday, 4/19 (Early Morning)**

I was about to go downstairs when my phone rang.

"Hello," a voice greeted coolly. "I realize this is sudden, but…. I'm Margaret. We met at the Velvet Room the other day."

_ WHAT THE HELL!?_ I screamed in my head.

"H-how did you get my phone numbe—" I began.

"There is one important point I forgot to warn you about, so I thought it best to contact you immediately," she interrupted. "Going to save your friends is a selfless and noble deed. By all means, we encourage and support you in regards to this matter. But to proceed too hastily in that quest will mean facing one battle after the next. Though you may be pressed for time, devoting yourself to battles will not quench your heart's yearnings. The bonds created through Social Links are another important means of strengthening the powers of your Persona. Do not hasten heedlessly through your days, and remember the importance of moving at sustainable pace. Please remember that. Well then, if you'll excuse me…." We hung up. I was still wondering about how she got my cell phone number as I shuffled downstairs.

I heard two guys talking about sports clubs on the way to school. It seems that you can join sports clubs today.

**(After School)**

I recalled hearing something about the sports club thing, and surprised myself. I have a really bad memory, so I felt fairly proud of myself that I remembered something like that.

So, I decided to go to the faculty office.

Oh god… it's King Moron. I gathered my courage and walked in.

"Uh, King—uh, Mr. Morooka?" I called quietly.

"What!?" he demanded, glaring at me.

"U-uh… I want to join a sports club…," I replied timidly.

"You wanna join a club?" he asked, eyeing me over. He started to lecture me all of a sudden. I tried not to groan in front of him. "So, still wanna join a club?" he grunted.

"Um… yeah…," I whispered.

"What!?" he yelled.

"I want to join a sports club," I almost yelled.

"Hmph. You can join either the basketball club or soccer club," he answered. He told me the directions to where the clubs meet. He also said that they meet on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and that they don't meet on rainy days. After that, I thanked him and left.

I arrived at the place King Moron told me to go._ What team should I join…?_ I suck at anything that involved balls, but I figured there would be a Social Link there….

After a few moments, I decided to join the basketball club.

The P.E. teacher introduced me as the guys on the team gaped at me.

"Dude, look at her hips, man," one of them whispered loudly.

"And her legs," another murmured. I looked at the perverts.

_So this is the kind of team I'm in…?_ I sighed.

"Why don't you say something to the team?" the teacher asked.

"Uh… hi," I said weakly. The guys giggled.

"I can't believe there's a girl on our team!" one said quietly.

"Yeah," another agreed. I sighed again. The teacher left to go to the soccer team or whatever. And since this was my first day here, I simply watched them play.

The team practiced for a bit before they left. The guys kept staring at me, which made me very uncomfortable. A basketball player walked up to me. He was one of those guys who didn't stare at me. Actually, I think he's the only guy that didn't stare at me.

"Hey," he said. He had black hair and brown eyes. He was fairly skinny, and was about as tall as me.

"Uh, hi," I replied uneasily.

"Whatja think of your first day here?" he asked.

"Uh… kinda uncomfortable," I muttered, glancing at the exit.

"Oh yeah. I'm Kou Ichijo," he introduced himself. "Second year, same as you. Nice to meet ya. Good to see someone else take an interest in the team." A guy walked up to us. He had light brown hair and brown eyes. He was a slightly taller than me. He wore the Yaso High P.E. clothes.

"Kou, aren't you done yet?" he asked. He studied me. "Is this the new girl?"

"Yeah, can you believe it!?" Kou exclaimed. "She's the transfer student. And the only girl here!"

"That's cool," his friend remarked. "Daisuke Nagase," he told me. "Nice to meet you." I nodded. "Soccer team, second year. Kou and I go way back." Kou laughed.

"Yeah, too far back," he said. "I'm getting sick of seeing your face."

_ Man these two are really good friends,_ I thought, watching them insult each other. I sighed. Will I ever have a friend like that?

"Did everyone take off early like usual?" Daisuke inquired.

"Yep," sighed Kou. "I suggested we work on rebounding, but they were all like, 'That's too tiring.' So all we did was take a few shots. But I shouldn't scare Misaki-chan with my b****ing on her first day! We've got a lot of members who don't show up to practice, but basketball's fun. You've played before, right?"

"Just a bit," I replied. "I mean… I know how to dribble and shoot, and the basic rules. But I don't know the exact positions or whatever."

"Really!?" he exclaimed.

"Huh?" I muttered. "Am I that bad?"

"N-no!" he replied, waving his hands in front of him. "It's just that we've got some guys on the team that don't even know the rules!" I stared at him.

"Really?" I asked. Everything froze again. This time the card showed a woman on top of a lion or bear. The Roman numeral was XI. The Social Link of the Strength Arcana. I'm not gonna say what that voice in my head told me. It's basically the same thing every time. It's pretty redundant.

"We practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays," Kou told me. "Oh, there's not practice on rainy days, either, because the other clubs take over the gym. Sometimes it sucks being on such a small team…." He sighed. "And of course, we don't practice the week before exams."

"Are you stuck polishing balls again?" Daisuke asked.

"Yeah," Kou sighed. "While they go to their parties, I get to stay here and play with balls. I loooove them balls," he said sarcastically. "Man, I wanna party, too!"

"I'll help you," Daisuke offered. "Let's get this done and get outta here."

"I'll help out, too," I said.*

"You'd do that!?" Kou exclaimed. "You're a real pal, man. I think I'm tearing up." I tried not to laugh.

"Are your teammates that bad?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. He nodded. And, so, we cleaned everything up and went home.

**(Evening)**

I stepped through the door and noticed that Dojima's not home. I decided to sneak out and see what Inaba looks like at night.

I went to the shopping district and saw Yosuke.

"Hey," I said, walking up to him.

"Oh, hey, Misaki-chan," he replied. "Man, you're one unlucky person. As soon as you transfer her, this murder stuff starts. That normally never happens here! In fact… normally, nothing ever happens here."

"So this place was pretty boring, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Just lemme know if you find yourself bored. If you don't mind having me around, I'll hang out with you whenever you want." He paused, and said quickly, "I mean, not on a date or anything. Just… hanging out." His face turned red.

"Yosuke, why are you acting like this around me?" I asked. "It's not like you act like this around other girls…." He shrugged.

"I dunno," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "You're… different."

"Well," I said. "Thanks for the offer." He nodded. We continued talking. After a while Yosuke gave me a Cough Drop.

"Well, see ya!" he yelled as he ran off. I waved to him and went home.

*The second choice was, "Be an ass and leave." When I saw that I laughed my ass off. XD

* * *

**A/N: Woo! Another chapter! I don't know why I wanted Yosuke to be so... uh... self-conscious or whatever around Misaki. Oh well! He's gonna act like that around Misaki until... he gets comfortable around her. :D**


	13. Hangin' Out With Yosuke

**Wednesday, 4/20 (Early Morning)**

Yosuke ran up to me on the way to school. He asked me if I tried touching the screen while the Midnight Channel was on. I nodded.

"Ooh, ahead of the game!" he exclaimed. "No wonder you're our leader!" He continued to say that his idea of jumping directly to Yukiko won't work because all of the televisions can be used to see the Midnight Channel, or something like that.

**(Afternoon)**

A dull teacher with a puppet on one hand was lecturing us. His name was Mr. Hosoi.

"Now then," he said. "How many parts are there to Murakami's 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'?" He scanned the room. "Hana-chan! I get the feeling you're not much of a reader!"

Yosuke looked at me hopefully. I sighed and whispered, "Three." He repeated my answer, and got a praise in return.

"Thanks!" he whispered. "You're a life-saver, Misaki!" I nodded and turned back around and faced the front.

**(Afterschool)**

I went to the bookstore and bought "The Lovely Man", "Expert Study Methods", and "Beginner Fishing". After that, I went to Daidara's and sold the items that the Shadows dropped. Then I went to the Shrine, just to walk around.

The boy I had given the Dr. Salt NEO to said he wanted The Natural. I quickly went and bought another one and came back. I gave it to him.

"What? You're giving me another one? Really?" he exclaimed. "Then, uh, I gotta give you something, too…." He rummaged through his pocket and gave me a Tatsuhime Ladybug. "Thank you very much!" he thanked. I nodded wordlessly and went back to school.

"Hey Yosuke!" I called after checking to make sure I had a Magician Persona.

"Oh! Hey," he said as I walked up to him.

"Wanna hang out today?" I asked.

"Sure!" he replied happily.

We went to Souzai Daigaku. He ordered some steak croquettes for both of us. We sat down at the table and ate them. They're really tough….

"Sticking chunks of steak in croquettes... Man this really is the country, huh?" Yosuke remarked and laughed. "Well, it's good… though it's tough." I nodded my agreement. "Dude, Chie called this stuff 'tender and juicy'…. What kinda teeth does she have?"

"Tell me about it," I said, biting into my croquette. Two housewives passed by us and stopped, gossiping.

"He's from Junes…. Yasogami High School, right?" one murmured.

"His classmate…. Sato-san? Went out of business," her friend said.

"This shopping district could disappear, and yet…," the first woman whispered. They continued talking.

"Sorry about that," said Yosuke. "You know me, I'm infamous around here." I looked at him in awe and wonder.

"It must be tough, with all of these people gossiping about this," I said. "How can you handle it?" He chuckled, brushing the air at his side.

"Nahhh, it's not really that tough," he muttered. "It's mainly my parents. I'm not personally involved. Anyway, there's nothing I can do about it." He shrugged. "I don't think there's anyone in this town who doesn't know me…. Not that I mind, but…. It sucks that I always gotta mind my manners." He gave me a huge grin. Then his face turned from cheerful to surprise.

"Dude, Jiraiya just learned Trafuri!" he announced. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"Good for you!" I said.

We ate and talked for a bit before heading home.

**(Evening)**

I dropped off some stuff at the house before heading out again.

I walked around the shopping district and saw Chie.

"Hey! Wassup?" I asked, jogging to her.

"Oh! Perfect timing!" she said. "Hey, do you mind if we talk for a bit? I get all anxious when I'm back home."

"That's what I'm here for," I replied.

"Alright!" she cried, fist pumping. "Uh…." She rubbed her chin, apparently searching for a subject to talk about. "I bet you don't know much about this place, seeing as how you just transferred and all. There's not much to know, really. The only thing I can think of is, um… how much nature we have here? But the people are really nice! Like, if you lose your wallet, it'll definitely come back to you!"

"Woah, seriously?" I exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah! And if you're ever in a fix, you can always count on me," she said.

"So, uh…. Where do you like to eat?" I asked.

"I recommend Aiya and Souzai Daigaku," she replied. "Aiya's steak bowls are delicious and Souzai Daigaku's steak skewers are great too! Honestly, I'd recommend steak no matter where in Japan I was."

"Man, you just love steak, huh?" I laughed.

"Yeah! So what?" she said. We both burst out laughing for some reason. We continued talking for a bit before we had to leave.

"Oh yeah, I want you to have this!" she said, handing me a Corn Potage Cracker. "I gotta go." She ran off before I could say "Thank you." I sighed, and walked back home.

* * *

**A/N: It's a really short chapter this time because the next one's gonna be hella long (you'll find out why :D). Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and please leave so critiques! :D**


	14. Yukiko's Shadow

**Thursday, 4/21 (Early Morning)**

I walked to school with Yosuke under the rain. He said that it's gonna be sunny for a while, so we don't have to worry about the fog. He said that the fog always sets in the morning after it's rained for a few days. I kept that in mind.

**(Lunchtime)**

I walked down the stairs as Kou walked up to me. He reminded me to go to practice before he walked down the hall.

**(After School)**

The boy at the shrine wanted a Steak Skewer, so I gave him some. In return, I got a Tatsuhime Ladybug. After that, I went to Junes and called everyone up. After everyone had arrived, we jumped into the T.V.

I looked up at the castle and sighed._ Welp. Let's do this._

Teddie gave me three Goho-Ms. After that, I called Yosuke and Chie and we ran in.

A Shadow jumped at us from behind, surprising us. I quickly turned around, sword drawn, to find two Shadows. Both of them were weird purple fish things. One of them attacked me. I parried it and slashed at it, but missed. I jumped back as the fish thingy tried to tackle me, and hit it as hard as I could, leaving a long, deep gash on its back. The Shadow staggered and slapped me with its fish tail. I stumbled back a bit, and rushed in, slicing it into pieces. The Shadow disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Yosuke had already defeated the other one, much to my delight. We high-fived, not noticing Chie's pout.

"Why don't you let me fight them?" she demanded, stomping her foot.

"Oh. Sorry," I said, giving her an apologetic smile. "C'mon, let's go."

We found the stairs and went up, but not before we fought a bunch of Shadows and found some stuff in chests.

The second floor still had that huge double door. I walked up to it as Teddie yelled, "I sense someone behind the door!" I paused, my hand on the door. Then I gritted my teeth and pushed it open. The four of us ran in.

"Yukiko?" asked Chie. The girl in front of us had a big, pink dress, and… basically she looked like a princess. She had a dark aura around her.

"Yukiko-san! Are you alright?" Yosuke cried. I glanced at him and Chie._ Do they seriously not see the FRIKIN' dark aura around her!? What the hell!?_

"Yukiko, what's wrong?" Chie asked. The spotlights turned on and pointed at the princess. She laughed and turned around, her golden eyes gleaming evilly. She was holding a microphone for some reason.

"Oh my! Special guests!" the Shadow said with a creepy smile on her face. "I wonder how they'll play into all this! Things are really heating up! Okie-dokie! I'm going back to hunt for my Prince Charming! Oh, where could he be? This place is huge! It's soooo exciting, but it makes it hard to find him. Oh! Maybe he's playing hide-and-seek in the fog! Ready or not, here I come! Let's go further in then, shall we?" Words popped up out of nowhere above the Shadow's head.

"Princess Yukiko's Hunt for her Prince Charming!" it read.

"What the hell is this!?" Yosuke yelled, backing up.

"You're not Yukiko!" Chie shouted. I sighed.

_ Oh really?_ I thought sarcastically._ I never knew that._

"Who are you?" she yelled. Shadow Yukiko laughed.

"What're you talking about?" she asked. "I'm Yukiko… and Yukiko is me."

"No!" Chie yelled, stepping forward. Then her eyes widened. "Don't tell me, are you—!?"

"You never realized…?" I muttered, bring my palm to my face.

"Where's the real Yukiko!?" Chie demanded, ignoring me. Then some voices sounded out of nowhere.

"What's with these voices?" Yosuke asked.

"The Shadows are getting agitated!" Teddie yelled, cowering behind us.

"Well, I'm off again!" Shadow Yukiko said. "You'd better be waiting with bells on, my dear Prince!" She skipped away.

"Hey, wait!" Chie cried, running after her. She stopped and turned around. "That clearly wasn't the real Yukiko. It had to be…."

"Dude, you seriously never realized?" I muttered. "You guys are_ so_ observant." My party members glared at me.

"Well, it must've been her other self," Teddie said quickly.

"So it's just like what happened to us," said Yosuke.

"But I don't think she was excited for nothing," Teddie muttered. "The real Yukiko wants to show us something. I can feel it. It's hard to explain…. It seems like she has a strong connection to this castle. This is a lot more dangerous than I thought!"

"Yukiko!" Chie cried as she ran to the other side of the room.

"Hey wait!" I yelled as I ran to her and grabbed her arm. I pulled her back and spun her around so that she was facing me. "Don't go alone," I said coolly. She nodded rapidly, and I released her. We moved on.

On the fifth floor, something odd happened. We ran forward, towards a door when there was a blinding flash of light. It disappeared. I glanced around and realized we were in a different corner. I ran forward again, towards another door, and got teleported to a different corner again. Then, I decided to go backwards. That worked well enough… for a bit.

We reached a door. So I tried to push it open, but it won't budge.

"D'you think we need a key?" Yosuke asked, trying to push the door open without success. I sighed heavily.

"I guess so…." So we continued running.

I found out that this area was a square, so even if we run backwards we can open one door without being teleported. Eventually, we'd be running forward again, towards another door, and get teleported elsewhere. Of course, we'd fight Shadows on the way to all the doors, but that's not a huge deal.

We eventually reached a door. Teddie warned us that there's someone inside. I unsheathed my sword and pushed the door open.

We found Shadow Yukiko inside accompanied by a huge knight on a floating steed with no legs. Shadow Yukiko chuckled.

"My Prince wouldn't lose to guards such as this, correct?" she said. The night charged at us as the "princess" ran out of the room. Teddie stayed near the doorway and shouted encouragements. I rolled to the side and summoned Izanagi. Yosuke was using Jiraiya, blasting gusts of wind at the Shadow. Meanwhile, I used Rakunda. Chie summoned Tomoe and slashed at it with her naginata repeatedly. I charged in and found myself in a sword fight with the knight. I parried its attacks and slashed at it, only to have my attacks blocked. I jumped back, but not far enough. The Shadow drove its sword at me, grazing the side of my head. I stumbled back, slightly dazed.

"Whoa-ho-ho," I exclaimed, summoning Izanagi. "Almost died there!"

"You okay there, Misaki?" called Chie as she ducked under the Shadow's sword and kicked it.

"Y-yeah," I replied, using Zio. The Shadow recoiled, giving us an opening. I charged in, slashing at the Shadow. A few seconds of attacking it later, it forced us back somehow. I changed Personas and summoned Sandman. Then I used Pulinpa (a spell that makes an enemy panic) on the Shadow…. And it worked! Wow! It cowered in fear. I smirked at the Shadow and tried to catch my breath. Chie and Yosuke charged at the Shadow and beat it up. A few minutes later, it was defeated.

"Great job, guys!" I praised, high-fiving them.

"Hell yeah!" Yosuke shouted. "Boss defeated!"

"C'mon! Let's go!" Chie shouted, beckoning us over to her. I glanced around to see if we missed anything and saw something shiny on the ground. I picked it up. It looked like a glass key. I pocketed it and ran to join the others.

We were back at the locked door. I took out the glass key I had found and inserted it into the keyhole on the door. It unlocked, and I pushed it open, revealing the stairs.

"Woo!" I yelled, running up it.

On the next floor, we saw a golden Shadow in the shape of a hand. A GOLDEN Shadow! I glanced at my party members excitedly and ran towards it. It noticed us, but instead of attacking us, it ran away.

"Hey get back here!" Yosuke yelled, chasing after it. I ran after him, Chie at my heels. After a few seconds, Yosuke attacked the Shadow and a puff of black smoke glittering with a bit of gold erupted from it. The smoke cleared and revealed three golden Shadows.

I slashed at one and missed. The Shadow hit me hard, and I stumbled back. I ran towards it and attacked nonstop. It broke away a few minutes later, but not before I put a few deep gashes into it. I ran after it and struck my sword on its head, and it disappeared in a puff of glittering smoke.

Chie kicked at one, but missed. It ran away. She stomped her foot angrily, cursing.

Yosuke was luckier. Jiraiya attacked the Shadow until it disappeared in a puff of smoke. He shook out his hair, grinning as if he had won the lottery.

Suddenly, cards appeared before my eyes._ Another Shuffle Time, huh?_ I chose to get a chest key. The cards disappeared, and I glanced around.

I found a bag on the floor and picked it up. Yosuke, Teddie, and Chie crowded around me and forced me to open it. We stared into the bag. The inside was filled with money. Like… a LOT of money.

"Woah!" Chie yelled, taking out a coin. She studied it closely. "Looks real to me," she remarked, putting it back.

"Dude!" Yosuke exclaimed. "Did we get rich!? Did we, did we!?" I turned away from them, hiding the bag.

"Uh anyway," I said, closing the bag. "Let's get going."

We continued through the floors, opening treasure chests, fighting Shadows, getting Shuffle Times (well… that's me).

We reached the last floor._ FINALLY!_ I wearily pushed the door open.

"Yukiko!" Chie shouted. We found Yukiko kneeling on the floor. Her Shadow was on top of the steps.

"I knew it! There's two of her!" Yosuke whispered loudly.

"No duh!" I said, unsheathing my sword.

"Oh? Ooooh, what's this?" Shadow Yukiko asked, a taunting smile on her face. "Three princes are here to see me? My, my! Are you the surprise guests who came in late? Aw…. I wish I'd gotten a better look at you! My, it's getting crowded her. Why don't you and I go somewhere else? A land far, far away, where no one knows me. If you're my Prince, you'd take my there, won't you? C'mon… pretty please?"

"Oh," Teddie whispered. "Is this 'scoring a hot stud'?" I ignored him, and apparently, so did everyone else.

"Three princes?" Chie asked. "Wait, does that include me, too?"

"Duh! The third one's gotta be me!" Teddie said.

"Dude, you're not gonna be a prince any time soon," I muttered. "Nor will you ever be."

"Chie," Shadow Yukiko sighed happily. "Yes, she's my Prince. She always leads the way. She's a strong prince. Or at least she_ was_."

"Was?" Chie muttered.

"When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough!" the Shadow continued angrily. "She can't take me away from here! She can't save me!"

"Yukiko…," Chie said.

"Stop," Yukiko shouted weakly, standing up.

"Historic inn? Manager training? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down!" Shadow Yukiko yelled. "I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me! From how I live, to where I die! I'm of sick of it! To hell with it all!"

"That's not true…," Yukiko muttered.

"I just want to go somewhere far away. Anywhere but here," Shadow Yukiko said in a mocking voice. "Someone, please take me away. I can't leave here on my own. I'm completely useless."

"Stop… please stop…," Yukiko said weakly.

"I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave," Shadow Yukiko taunted. "So I sit on my ass hoping that someday my Prince will come! I don't care where we go! Anywhere's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn! Historical tradition? Pride of the town? What a bunch of bulls***!"

"How dare you?" Yukiko demanded wearily.

"That's how I really feel," Shadow Yukiko said flatly, a smile on her face. "Isn't that right… me!?"

"No!" Yukiko shouted.

"Stop! Don't say it!" Yosuke yelled.

"No! You're not me!" Yukiko screamed. Shadow Yukiko laughed evilly as dark shadow stuff flowed into her.

"This feels wonderful!" she exclaimed. "It's building… more and more…. If this keeps up… I'll… I'll…!" She laughed and black smoke enveloped her. It disappeared and she dropped down from the ceiling on a chandelier in the form of a weird, red bird.

"Let's do this!" I yelled. We charged at her, summoning our Personas as Teddie ushered Yukiko to move out of the way.

I used Rakunda on her and ran around her, trying to find on opening. Yosuke's Persona slashed at her, but she closed herself inside the cage and blocked his attacks. Chie used Bufu (a single-target ice spell) on the Shadow and she fell out of her cage. The three of us charged in and attacked her. We jumped back as the Shadow flew up to her cage.

"What? Are you trying to make me mad!?" she demanded as she used White Wall (a spell that protects someone from being knocked down by ice spells). I gritted my teeth and changed my Persona to Sandman. Then I used Pulinpa, which didn't work, unfortunately. Yosuke used Garu over and over again, which did some damage, but not much. Chie continued to use Bufu, but it didn't knock Shadow Yukiko down. So she used Rampage (a spell that deals like physical damage to all enemies one to three times) instead. It missed, unfortunately. Shadow Yukiko used Agi (a fire spell) on me. I felt the burning sensation and rolled out of the way just in time. Then she used it on Chie, which knocked her down. She laughed.

"We're not done yet!" she said. "Let's see this strength of yours. Come, my Prince!" Three spotlights shined on a spot next to her on the floor. A puff of white smoke appeared and cleared, showing a weird prince thingamajig.

I ran to the prince thing and attacked. It blocked my attacks and hit me. I winced, giving it an opening. It attacked me again. I managed to parry it and slashed at it repeatedly, giving it no chances to hit me or move. After about inflicting about a thousand cuts on the thing, it ran away.

"What!?" Shadow Yukiko cried. "How can this be!?" She tried to summon it again, but it didn't come out. She screamed and used Agi on us repeatedly. It hit Chie a few times, knocking her down. Yosuke and I charged at the Shadow, using our Personas to attack her, since we can't reach her ourselves.

"Izanagi!" I yelled, changing Personas. He appeared and attacked the bird. Jiraiya attacked her as well, using Garu repeatedly. Out of nowhere, Chie's Persona Tomoe grabbed Shadow Yukiko out of her and kicked her. Hard. The Shadow flew up to the ceiling and exploded. After a few moments, she fell down in her human form, looking beat-up. We sprinted to Yukiko, as tired as we were.

"Yukiko!" Chie yelled.

"Are you all right?" I asked as she stood up.

"No… I'm not…," she muttered, glaring at her Shadow. For a moment I thought she was saying that she was_ not_ okay, but I realized that she was saying that the Shadow's not her.

"We understand," Yosuke said. "You're not the only one like that, Yukiko-san. Everyone has something they can't show to other people, or don't want to admit to themselves."

"Yukiko… I'm sorry," Chie said, her voice shaking. "I was so self-centered that… I never understood what you were going through. I'm your friend… and I still…. I'm so sorry…." She wiped her eyes.

"Chie…," Yukiko muttered.

"I was always jealous of you, Yukiko," admitted Chie, tears falling down her eyes. "You had everything that I didn't…. That jealously was like a wall, and I was so lonely…. I wanted you to need me…. But it was me who needed you. I can't do anything right on my own…. I've cause so much trouble for Yosuke and the others. If you weren't by my side…. I wouldn't know what to do…." She wiped her eyes again.

"Chie…," Yukiko said. "I never saw the real you either…. I was too busy trying to find an easy way out." She walked shakily to her Shadow. "'I want to run away'... 'I want someone to save me'…. You're right," she admitted. "Those feelings are part of me, too. I understand now. You're me." Her Shadow nodded and turned into a Persona. The Persona was wearing a pink shirt and white skirt. She had a pink flower thingy attached to her wrists and extend all the way around her back. She had a pink mask on, and flowers on both sides of her head. The Persona disappeared and Yukiko fell to her knees.

"Yukiko!" Chie yelled as we all ran to her.

"Are you okay?" Yosuke asked worriedly.

"Yes. I'm just a little tired," Yukiko replied. "You all came to rescue me…?"

"Of course!" Chie replied cheerfully.

"Thank you."

"Don't even mention it. I'm just so glad you're safe!" Chie's voice cracked.

"Heh heh… right on!" Yosuke agreed.

"So, who threw you in here?" Teddie inquired.

"Huh? Who are you?" she asked. "Rather, what are you?"

"I'm Teddie!" he said. "So who threw you in?"

"Straight to the point, huh?" I muttered.

"I don't know," she replied. "I think someone called my name…. But my memory's a blur. I can't remember who it was. I'm sorry, um… Teddie."

"No new clues," he said sadly.

"Not necessarily," Yosuke said. "Now we know for sure that someone threw Yukiko-san in here."

"Then it wasn't really you guys," Teddie murmured.

"What!?" I exclaimed. "You still suspected us!? Hmph. You satisfied now?"

"I-I always believed it wasn't you guys!" he said unconvincingly.

"You liar," I said curtly.

"Anyways, let's hurry back home," Chie interrupted. "Yukiko looks exhausted. Thanks again, Teddie!" Yukiko stood up. Chie threw Yukiko's arm over her shoulder and we started walking out.

"Wait, you're leaving me here!?" Teddie exclaimed.

"Leaving you?" Yosuke asked. "What're you talking about? You live here. Well… yeah, but…."

"I'm sorry Teddie." Yukiko said, patting him on his head. "I promise to come again. So be a good boy and wait here until then." Teddie growled affectionately.

"My, it's getting crowded here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else…?" he asked. That sounded familiar…. Wait. I glared at him. That was Shadow Yukiko's line. "C'mon… pretty please?" he pleaded.

"You're giving me the creeps!" Yosuke yelled. "That's it, you're stuck here for the rest of your life!" On that note, we went out.

We were at the food court in Junes.

"Yukiko, are you all right?" Chie asked. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"No…. I'm just a little tired," Yukiko replied.

"Do you remember anything?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but… I don't remember anything," was the reply.

"Well, no worries! You're safe, and that's more than enough," Chie said.

"But there's no mistake that Yukiko-san was… um…," Yosuke said. "Attacked the same way as the last two victims. And it think the one we saw on the Midnight Channel wasn't the real Yukiko-san, but her Shadow. Maybe the things Yukiko-san was suppressing in this world took form in the T.V."

"You know, Teddie was saying something like that," Chie said. Yosuke sighed heavily.

"It's no use," he muttered. "I'm just going round and round in circles…. What kind of person could be doing this?"

"Let's call it day," I said. "We're all tired, and we can't think straight. Besides, Yukiko should get some rest."

"Yeah," Chie agreed. "We can go over it some other day. Yukiko really needs to get some rest. I'll take her home."

"Oh, that's right…. Sorry," Yosuke said. "Yukiko-san must be exhausted." The two of them left.

"We'll talk about all this some more once more once she gets her strength back," he muttered.

"Yeah," I said. We said good-bye and went home.

**(Evening)**

Dojima came in the house with another guy. Possibly his friend.

"Um… hello…," Nanako muttered.

"Hi there," the detective greeted.

"We got off work at the same time, so I'm giving him a ride back to his place," Dojima explained. "I thought we might as well swing by."

"Nice to meet ya," the detective said. "I'm Adachi, the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring."

"I can still work you harder, you know," Dojima said.

"Haha, good one, Sir! Ha… ha…," Adachi muttered. "Oh I almost forgot! You're friends with Yukiko Amagi, right? They found her safe and sound! Tell all your friends at school!"

"Really!?" I exclaimed as if I didn't know that already. "That's a relief…."

"Yeah, for us on the force, too," he replied. "But this doesn't mean the case is closed, though. We were just questioning Ms. Amagi, but she says she doesn't remember anything that happened while she was missing. And we can't figure out her whereabouts during the missing period, either. It's like she really disappeared. It's all pretty fishy, if you ask me. Like there's something else going on…." Dojima cuffed him. "Ow!"

"Stop blabbering, dumbass!" Dojima yelled.

"Sorry," Adachi apologized.

"Ignore him. He's just spouting some wild fantasy," Dojima told me.

"Um… okay then," I said.

"Yeah, don't give it a second thought," he said. "Sheesh, he's a real pain sometimes."

"I'm hungry," complained Nanako. And so, we all ate dinner together.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter! *sigh* So much typing... Y'know, my friend wanted me to put a lemon in it. I'm not doing it. Or maybe I WILL put a lemon in it... Look out for it! It might be something that you wouldn't expect! XD**


	15. A Little Bit About My Past

**Friday, 4/22 (Lunchtime)**

Yosuke walked up to me and suggested that we hang out after school before walking away.

**(After School)**

I went to Daidara's and sold the stuff I got from the Shadows. Then I went to the vending machine in front of the Shiroku Store and bought an Orange Smash. After that, I went to the shrine and gave the boy the drink. In return, I got a Tatsuhime Ladybug again. I sighed._ Is this all that he has…?_

Then I went to school and checked to see if I had a Magician Persona. Then I talked to Yosuke.

"Sup," I greeted, giving him a small wave.

"Oh, hey," he said. "Wanna go somewhere?" I nodded. He took me to Okina City.

"Man, it's been a while since I breathed this kinda air," he said, breathing deeply.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"Y'know, I'm just a poor little city boy drawn to that urban scent," he said. "Wait a minute…. Am I starting to sound like Teddie?" I pretended to study him.

"Well… you're looking a bit hairier," I said in a helpful tone and gave him a wide smile.

"Now that you mention it, the foam in my facial soap this morning had…!" he exclaimed. "Hey, you're making me scare myself!" I burst out laughing, and so did Yosuke.

"Well, that aside, what should we—" he began. His phone beeped, and he flipped open his phone and sighed.

"It's just a text message," he explained. "More spam…" He put his phone away. "Looks like someone got my address. I get a lot of spam."

"Why don't you just block them?" I suggested.

"Even if I do, they change domains, so there's no point. And I don't wanna change my address." He sighed. "I haven't changed addresses since before we moved to Inaba. I mean, I might get a text from someone. It's hard to call, y'know? If I called people just to tell them my number got changed, they'd get annoyed."

"I won't," I said, stretching my arms. He chuckled.

"Some of them never planned to text me anyway," he muttered. "Oh but hey, don't look at me like I don't have any friends!"

"Of course you have friends," I said, giving him a smile. "You have one right here." I pointed to my chest with my thumb.

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. "Though to tell you the truth, I don't remember what we all used to talk about can't really call 'em friends."

"I never had many friends back at my old school," I said, looking up at the sky. I could feel Yosuke's eyes on mine. "It's pretty lonely. They never talk to me much, and the only time they do is when there's no one else to talk to." I looked down at the floor and smiled thinly.

"R-really?" he asked. "Oh…. I never knew. I thought you were pretty popular back at your old school." I chuckled.

"Nah," I said. "But I feel pretty happy to have at least one friend that actually talks to me." I slung my arm over Yosuke's shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. He laughed and gave me a thumbs up as well.

"Well, I'm counting on you!" he almost yelled.

"I'll be counting you, too," I replied, giving him a wide grin.

We went back home.

**(Evening)**

Dojima wasn't home today. I dropped some stuff down, then was about to head out when I spotted a lemon on the counter in the kitchen. I stared at it, a memory popping out of the depths of my mind..

_ "Drink it!" my grandmother ordered, shoving the half-full cup in my face. "It's good for you!" I leaned away from the concoction and glanced at her anxiously._

_ "I don't want to drink it!" I whined, pushing the cup away from my face._

_ "No!" she shouted. "It's good for you!" She continued to shove the drink in my face until I took cup. I stared at the liquid. It reeked of lemon. I sighed deeply and took a sip. Immediately, I set down the cup and coughed. My throat felt super dry, and all that I tasted was sour stuff._

_ I glanced at my grandmother with nervous eyes, and saw her glaring at me. I sighed again and painfully drank the concoction._

_ After I was done she took the cup and exclaimed, "I just drank a full cup, so you better not be whining about a half-full cup of lemon tea!" I thought about drinking a full cup of that "lemon tea" and shuddered._

I smiled, glad that I don't have to go through all that here in Inaba, then went out.

I went to the Shiroku Pub, cause I heard that the place traded gemstones or whatever. I did collect some gems from the Shadows that we defeated.

I stepped in and checked out the stuff that the lady had. She wore a red dress, which did not suit her one bit, since she was fairly big. She had lipstick and some reddish eyeliner on. I tried not to stare at her.

I stared at the things that she could make, thinking,_ You need so many gems…._

"Would you care to listen to my troubles?" she asked me.

"Uh… sure?" I answered uncertainly.

"I have a little one, named Akihiko," she said. "Lately, it seems no matter what food I offer him, he refuses to eat. Is it because I have a night job? Or could it be that he's realized that I'm not his real mother?"

_I think he knew that you're not his real mother a long time ago…,_ I muttered to myself. Luckily, she didn't hear me.

"I'm so worried lately that I can't even sleep at night…," she continued.

_Wow,_ I thought,_ she must really love her fish._

Suddenly, the fish in the tank swam around lively.

"Akihiko, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly, moving towards the tank. "It seems he wants to eat the Tatsuhime Ladybug you have." I stared at her._ She can tell what her fish is saying!?_

"Please! Won't you let my little one eat that bug?" she pleaded, looking at me with puppy eyes. "He won't eat the Bread Crumbs I give him. At this rate he'll…. Please! My little one is the only emotional support I have! I'm begging you!"

I fished through my pocket and brought out the ladybug. I handed her the bug.

"Thank you," she said. "You're so kind..." She turned to her beloved fish. "Now here's your dinner, Akihiko." She dropped the ladybug into the fish tank. My eyes widened as something came out of the fish's mouth as it was eating.

"My god, this is a fishhook!" she exclaimed. "Akihiko, where did you eat something like this!? So my boy had a fishhook stuck in his throat. That's why he seemed so down. Thank goodness. I'm sure he'll get better now. Thank you so much."

"No problem," I said and grinned, glad that the fish is gonna be okay.

"Do you want some bread crumbs?" she offered after her fish denied them.

"Uh… sure?" I said as she handed me the crumbs. After that, I left and went back home.

I changed into my pajamas and picked up "Beginner's Fishing." I plopped onto the sofa and opened the book.

It talked about patience and diligence. Looks like willpower is very important for a fisherman….

After reading for a while, I put the book away and went to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Here's the promised lemon! XD Well I have a question for you guys. Do you want the chapters to contain one day? Or do you want them to have more than one day?**


	16. Basketball Practice

**Saturday, 4/23 (Early Morning)**

I strolled to school behind two gossiping girls.

"Hey, did you hear?" said one girl. "There are part-time job listings on the town bulletin board now! I wish there was one that would let me make some quick cash…."

The girls continued to chat the whole way to school. I tried not to yawn too loudly behind them.

**(Morning)**

I leaned against the back of my chair, trying to stay awake. Ms. Sofue was talking about economic stuff. This was the type of history I was not interested in.

"… Wake up!" she called. I immediately sat up in my chair, thinking that she called on me. I glanced at her and realized she was talking to Yosuke.

"What was the first economic bubble incident in the world?" she asked. Yosuke looked at me frantically.

"Help me out, here!" he whispered.

"Well…," I murmured, "I heard her mention something about a tulip mania thing…." He repeated my answer.

"Yes, it was the tulip mania," Ms. Sofue replied. Yosuke sighed in relief and leaned forward.

"Thanks, Misaki," he whispered. I nodded and faced forward and tried to look alert, not wanting to be in the same boat as Yosuke.

**(After School)**

The boy at the shrine wanted a Second Maid, so I went and bought him some. In return, he gave me some more Tatsuhime Ladybugs. I sighed.

_Is that the only thing that he has?_ I wondered.

Then I strolled to the town bulletin board and studied the job listings. I decided to take the envelope constructor and the assistant day care caretaker.

After that, I jogged to the river. I looked around and walked onto the dock and squatted, gazing at the glistening water.

"Hey, girl!" a voice called. I looked over my shoulder and spotted a bent-over old man with white hair.

"Uh, yeah?" I asked, standing up and walking to him.

"I have a fishing rod… uh...," he muttered. "I feel bad for asking… but do you happen to have a fish hook?"

"Yeah," I said, reaching into my pocket. I brought it out and handed the hook to him.

"My! You're willing to give that to a total stranger like me? I'm much obliged," he said. "I need to thank you somehow…."

"It's all right," I chuckled. "I don't need that hook anyway."

"Oh! I know!" he exclaimed. "Do you fish?"

"Not really," I replied uneasily. Ignoring me, he put the hook onto the rod and gave it to me.

"I-it's fine, really…," I protested, waving my hands in front of me and backing away.

"No! I insist," the old man said, shoving the rod into my hands. "It's old and this was a good opportunity, so I'm going to give it up. I was planning on buying a new rod anyway. This is to show my gratitude. Use it however you want."

"U-uh… thanks," I replied, staring at the newly obtained fishing rod.

I decided to go home and drop this off.

"Hey!" Kou greeted as I walked up to him on the second floor of school. "Wanna go to practice together?"

"Yeah," I answered, making sure I had a Strength Persona. We walked to the basketball court.

We worked on dribbles for a while. I ran across the court, dribbling with my right hand, then came back, dribbling with my left hand. The ball ran away from me a few times.

"Man, I suck…," I groaned. Kou jogged next to me, dribbling expertly.

"It's all right," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

We practiced for half an hour before working on shooting hoops. I stood in the key close to the hoop and shot the ball. It flew over the hoop, and I groaned.

"I suck so much…," I muttered, retrieving the ball.

"Well, you're better than the other guys," laughed Kou. I gave him a small smile and continued to practice. "You need to work on your form…," he explained.

He taught me how to shoot the ball as the other guys on the team gawked at us… or, rather, me.

"Man, I'm hungry," he moaned when practice was over. I nodded in agreement. "Aiya, or Junes? You decide."

"Uh… I dunno. Aiya, I guess," I replied.

"You really know what's up! Their Hui Gou Rou is awesome!" exclaimed Kou. Daisuke ran up to us.

"Hey Kou, hurry up," he said.

"The soccer team's done already? You guys are fast, man," Kou said. "Don't you have cleaning up to do?"

"Yeah, but I don't have to do that stuff," Daisuke replied, chuckling. "Oh yeah, this girl in my class was looking for you. She made something for you in home ec. She said, 'Kou-chan loves sweets,' or something like that."

"Well… I do like me some sweets…," Kou muttered.

"Got a girlfriend, huh?" I joked. "If I were a guy, I'd be jealous."

"No no, we're just friends!" he laughed. "I don't mind the sweets and all that, but I wish she'd stop calling me 'Kou-chan.' I swear, the more girls I tell not to call me that, the more they seem to enjoy it."

"Well, they to annoy guys," I explained jokingly. He laughed.

"Well that explains it," he said, then sighed. "I hate my name. 'Kou.' It's such a crappy name…."

"Well? What're you gonna do?" Daisuke asked.

"I guess I'll go pick 'em up," he replied with a small smirk. "You like sweets, Misaki-chan? Want me to get you some, too?"

"Huh? Uh, no thanks," I answered.

"Dude, a guy offered you some candy. You're supposed to say yes," Daisuke said, sighing. I shrugged.

"I guess I don't like taking other people's food," I explained nonchalantly.

"Hey, no big deal. It's just candy, right? It's not like there's some kind of deeper meaning to it," Kou said, shrugging. "I just figured if Misaki liked sweet stuff, I'd offer her some."

"You startin' to like her?" Daisuke asked teasingly. Kou punched him.

"Shut up," he ordered, a smile on his face.

We ate at Aiya after Kou picked up his candies, then went home.

**(Evening)**

I walked to my room and changed into my pajamas. I settled in my couch and opened "Beginner Fishing." I read a few chapters before going to bed.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I'm kinda busy right now (y'know, projects and stuff). But I'll try to make the next one extra long to make up for this one. Hoped you guys enjoyed this one! :)**


	17. Joinin' a Cultural Club

**Sunday, 4/24 (Daytime)**

I turned off the T.V and sighed, feeling bored.

Suddenly my phone rang. I jumped, then frantically answered the phone.

"H-hello?" I stammered. I was never good at talking to people over the phone. My grandma had always yelled at me about that.

"Um, hey, this is Kou," the person on the other side said. "If you're bored, let's hang out. I'll call up Daisuke, too. How's that sound?"

I hesitated. I need to work on my other Social Links….

"Sorry," I answered. "I'm kinda busy today."

"Oh, okay… Another time, then. Later." He hung up. I slipped my phone into my pocket and glanced at my study table, where my neglected iPod sat. I grabbed it, then turned it on. I scrolled through my list of songs.

_Heartbeat, Heartbreak; Signs of Love, Your Affection, Deduction, Glimpse of a Memory, When the Moon's Reaching Out Stars…_

I kept scrolling down the list, looking for a good song. Finally, I chose "Your Affection," put on my ear buds, and pressed the "play" button.

_Withered flowers forget what they wept for day after day,_

_Withered flowers blossom in the stream of tears, they still think of the cause…_

I nodded my head to the music as I went out.

The boy at the shrine was always thirsty…. This time he wanted a TaP Soda. He gave more Ladybugs.

_Is this seriously all that he has…?_ I wondered, walking out of the shrine.

I wandered around town, and soon found myself in front of Junes. Shrugging, I stepped inside.

"Oh! Hey Misaki!" someone called. I whipped around and found a smiling Yosuke in front of me.

"Hey Yosuke," I greeted, turning my music down.

"You wanna go somewhere?" he asked.

"Eh. Sure," I answered indifferently.

"All right! Let's go!" He took me to the Junes food court.

"This is the 'somewhere'?" I muttered, scrolling through my list of music.

"I'll show you the place after we're done eating," he said, biting into his snack. I chose to listen to "Like a Dream Come True."

"Oh there you are, Hanamura!" a girl called. Yosuke sighed as two girls sashayed to him. Yosuke stood up.

"Hello there, Senpai. What's wrong today?" he asked politely. I studied the girls. They looked like b****s. I did not want to deal with them.

The girl in a yellow blouse glared at him. "You better say something to that blockhead manager! I told him I can't come in on Saturdays or Sundays!" she whined. "But he's saying I have to be here since we're low on staff. And if I don't he'll fire me!"

"Isn't there some kinda law against that?" the girl in a red shirt scoffed. I glared at them. Luckily, they didn't notice me.

"Didn't you guys say you could work weekends during your interview?" Yosuke asked.

"Well yeah!" the girl in yellow shouted, stomping her foot. "They wouldn't hire us if we didn't!" I sighed.

"Why'd you take the job…?" I muttered under my breath. "You could've been making envelops or something…."

"Alright, I got it," sighed Yosuke. "I'll try talking with him. But you don't want to get fired, right? It'd make it easier for me to strike a deal if you could show up every now and then on weekends."

"We'll think about it," the girl in yellow said curtly. _Oh god…._

"You'd better do it, 'kay?" the girl in red said. On that note, they sashayed away.

"Oh, Yosuke-kun," a woman called. "Just the man I was looking for." A young woman came up to him.

"Oh… hi," greeted Yosuke uneasily.

"Hear my out! Remember that claim I had the other day? Well, the head butcher said…" she complained loudly.

"All right, all right," Yosuke interrupted. "Let's talk over here." He turned to me and said, "Sorry, Misaki. Could you give me a minute?" I nodded, and he and the lady moved farther away. He came back a few minutes later.

"Man, I'm beat… I'm not the complaints department…" he sighed.

"You're incredible…" I said.

"Huh? Dude, it's nothing but trouble!" he chuckled

"I wouldn't be able to handle them," I said. He smiled sheepishly and looked at the table.

"Everyone's trying to take advantage of me as the Junes kid. Maybe I wouldn't mind if I was free, but we have murders to deal with. I don't have time for this," he muttered. "Can the police really handle the killer? Can the law really convict whoever's behind this? Once I started worrying about that stuff, I knew I couldn't bother with anything else. I have to do what I can…" I gave him a large grin.

"That's the spirit!" I shouted, laughing.

"Hey, don't get carried away! You make me feel like I said something crazy…" he murmured. "I never thought I'd be talking about serious stuff like this. Before I moved here, it was all small talk… stupid, trivial things. I thought that was fine. It's only with you guys that I talk seriously like this. I dunno why, but I feel like I don't have to lie…. Especially with you. You've already seen the worst of me and all. But well… thinking about it now, if someone had to see that, I'm glad it was you." I stared at him.

"You're the first person who's ever said that to me," I remarked, sipping my drink and looking down at the table. "You know what? I trust you, too." Now it's his turn to stare at me. He chuckled.

"Thanks…" he said suddenly.

"F-for what?" I asked.

"For going in with me that time." I was confused for a second before suddenly realizing that he was talking about the time we went into the T.V. for the first time.

"No problem," I replied. A few seconds later, he cried, "Jiraiya learned Dekaja!"

"Nice!" I praised, giving him a thumbs up. He glanced down at his half-finished plate.

"Man… I'm hungry!" he exclaimed, picking up his fork.

We hung around the food court before going home, completely forgetting about the "somewhere" he wanted to show me.

**(Evening)**

I plopped down on the sofa and turned on my iPod. I played "Signs of Love" and opened "Beginner's Fishing." I tried not to fall asleep as I read the book.

* * *

**Monday, 4/25 (Early Morning)**

"The cultural clubs are accepting new applicants starting today!" an energetic girl exclaimed happily. I lowered the music volume. "You're welcome to join, even if you're already in a sports club," the girl continued. "Hmm…. Which cultural club should I join?"

"You're going to join a sports AND cultural club? Aren't you going to end up half-assing both of them?" her friend said. They continued to talk.

**(Morning)**

Mr. Kondo taught us about overcompensation in P.E. today. It was quite boring.

**(After School)**

I made my way down to the faculty office, hoping with all my might that King Moron would not be there.

I slowly pushed open the door and peeked in.

"What do you want!?" King Moron demanded. I shrank back.

"I-I wanna join a club… sir," I replied shakily.

"Oh, no!" the "King" shouted. "I know what you're really after! You're just trawling for boys, aren't you!? Admit it!"

"W-what!?" I exclaimed. "I wouldn't—"

"Listen up!" he interrupted. "A club is supposed…." For some reason, I found myself being lectured. I sighed inwardly.

_This guy can give lectures about anything… just like my grandma…_ I thought.

"So, still wanna join a club?" he finally asked.

"Uh… yeah," I answered. "I want to find out how to join… a… cultural... club…." I shrank back even more under his glare.

"The cultural clubs?" he shouted. "You'd better not be interested in them just so you can meet boys, Missy!

"You can join either the drama club or the band. Both clubs meet on the ground floor of the Practice Building. Go find them yourself! Before you go… the cultural clubs meet on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday! So are we done here!?" I nodded quickly, then briskly walked out before he could say anything else.

I walked to the music room in the practice building and pushed open the door.

"Oh, and don't forget to stop by the faculty office and pick up a key," a guy was saying.

"Okay, no problem!" a short girl said. She turned around and bumped into me. "Oh… sorry about that," she apologized.

"Uh… I'm here to join the… symphonic band," I told her.

"Oh, okay," she said. "Um, wait right here, please." She turned around and called, "Captain! Caaaaaaptain!" A boy came up to me and turned to the band.

"This is Misaki Ishida," the captain introduced. "Let's give her a warm welcome, everyone."

"Welcome!" chorused the band members. I nodded politely.

"So, Misaki-chan," he asked, "do you have any experience with musical instruments?"

I nodded. "I play the violin," I answered.

"Great!" the captain exclaimed. "Why don't you stick around and watch for today? We meet on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. And… hey Ayane!"

"Y-yes!?" the short girl replied.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to Misaki?" he said.

"Umm… uh… my name is Ayane Matsunaga. I'm a first-year," she muttered awkwardly. "I-I play the trombone. And, uh…."

"All right, she'll get you brought up to speed," the captain interrupted. "If you'll excuse me…." He turned to the band members. "Bring it in, guys. Break's over. Let's take it from the top again."

I watched the symphonic band rehearse, swaying to the beautiful music. After about thirty minutes, they went home. Ayane and I were the only ones left.

"Oh, Senpai… you're still here?" she said. "It's okay, you can go home!

"Oh! I'm sorry! I was supposed to give you the details on our club, wasn't I? Umm, we meet on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays… uh… they already told you that, huh…? We don't take attendance, so you don't have to come if you don't want to. But practice makes perfect, so…. If you keep at it, this is a great way to learn to express yourself!" I nodded. "Though… I'm not the best example of that…. Uh... do you have any questions, Senpai?"

"Uh… the club plays here, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "But sometimes we do performances at hospitals, or for senior homes."

"That's cool," I remarked.

"But we aren't a big enough band to enter any competitions…" she muttered. "But people enjoy our performances. We really pour our hearts into the music." She paused. "Well… I say 'we,' but I don't usually play. I take care of all the paperwork around here."

"Why don't you play…?" I asked. She shrugged.

"A-anyway, I have to tidy up," she said. "Why don't you go on ahead, Senpai?"

"I'll help," I announced, moving towards the back of the room to where the scattered instruments laid.

"Huh? Uh, umm…" she muttered, staring at me. "N-no, it's okay! It's my responsibility! So, um, please! Don't go out of your way!"

"Too late," I replied, picking up a candy wrapper.

Suddenly, everything froze. I sighed.

_Is this gonna happen EVERY TIME I get a new Social Link…?_ I wondered, exasperated.

Ayane Matsunaga was the Social Link of the Sun Arcana.

The picture on the card was a weird-looking sun. At the bottom was the Roman Numeral XIX.

Everything came back to life. I tried to look as if nothing happened as we cleaned the room up before going home.

**(Evening)**

I went out again after dropping my stuff down at home.

I strolled along through the night, looking at the beautiful night sky. You don't get to see many stars in the city, where the city's lights block out the stars'.

"Oh, Misaki," someone called. "What're you doing out at night?"

"Huh?" I said as I whipped around. "Oh. Hey Kou! What're_ you_ doing out here at night?"

"Me? I was just on my way home," he explained. "I was talking with my classmates. If you're bored, you wanna hang out for a bit?"

"Eh, sure," I answered. We sat in front of Souzai Daigaku.

"Man, the team's really gotten better since you joined," Kou said.

"You sure?" I scoffed. "All they were doing was look at my legs and chest." He chuckled.

"I thought they were doing better," he said. "Maybe you can motivate them by telling them that you want them to try their best."

"You think that'd work?" I asked, drawing figures on the table.

"I dunno," he replied, shrugging. "Maybe. But they're too lax, y'know." I nodded. "How hard do you think we should be practicing?" he asked me. "If you think we're not doing enough, I can adjust it." I chuckled.

"I don't have that much stamina," I said. _It's a wonder how I can run for so long in the T.V. world._ "But bring it on, man!"

"Oooh, that's awesome," said Kou. "We'll have a talk with the others next practice, then." He beamed at me. "Speaking about the team, are there any positions you want? Forward? Guard? How about small forward? You look like you'd be perfect for it…."

"Just don't put me in a position where I have to shoot," I chuckled. "I can't make a hoop even if my life depended on it!"

We chatted for a bit before it started getting late. He gave me some Blue Cheese Chips before we parted ways and went home.

* * *

**A/N: Woo! The long-awaited chapter is finally out! Sorry for not updating. I was busy with stuff. Hope you liked it! ^_^ Oh! And tell me if you like doing 2+ days in one chapter, or just one day a chapter. Or maybe some more suggestions or something! Thanks!**

**(And I know some of you guys already gave me your opinions. I already read them, don't worry. But if you didn't, please tell me what you think I should do!)**


	18. Training With Chie

**Tuesday, 4/26 (Morning)**

Mrs. Nakayama was droning on and on about some animal and some vending machine.

"Miss Satonaka!" she suddenly called. "Tell me which of these don't exist: Amicable numbers, betrothed numbers, marriage numbers, or sociable numbers?" Chie looked around frantically.

"Do you know, Misaki-chan?" she whispered. "I don't think I've heard any of these!"

"Uh… I don't think marriage numbers exist," I whispered back. She repeated my answer.

"That's actually correct," Mrs. Nakayama said. "Next time, Miss Satonaka, please just say honestly if you don't know the answer."

"Guess she knew I was asking you," she said quietly. "But thanks, Misaki!"

"Yeah…" I muttered, trying to sink into my chair as the other students looked at us.

**(Lunchtime)**

I finished my lunch and was about to go to the classroom when Chie came up to me.

"Yooo, whatcha doin'?" she asked. "If you have time after school, hang out with me, okay? When I'm not busy after school, you can usually find me hanging out on the roof. Think about it!" On that note, she went upstairs.

"Yo, Misaki," Kou greeted, waving his hand. "You know we've got practice today, right? You'd better be there! See ya later!" He jogged to Daisuke.

"Oh, Senpai," Ayane said. "I just wanted to remind you that we have practice today. I think we'll all be playing together, so it should be a lot of fun." A picture of my violin sitting in the corner of my room flashed in my mind as she walked away.

**(After School)**

The boy at the shrine wanted some Steak Croquettes. So I bought him some and in return, he gave me some more Ladybugs.

I ran to school and climbed the stairs to the roof. I closed the door behind me, trying to catch my breath. Then, I calmly walked to Chie.

"'Sup," I greeted.

"You wanna hang out?" she offered. I nodded. "Then come with me!"

She took me to the Samegawa riverbank.

"Hmm…. This looks like a good spot," she mused.

"For what?" I asked.

"Y'know, for training!" she answered excitedly. "I need to hone my kicking skills, or I won't be able to use them in battle."

"I think you're pretty good at kicking already," I said. "I mean… you practice on Yosuke all the time, right?"

"I need to get better!" she said with a small smile. "I tried practicing at home… but my mom and dad yelled at me for putting a hole in the shoji."

"Well, be careful, then!" I told her.

"Still… now's the time to train, right!?" she exclaimed. I nodded. "You think so, too!?" She beamed at me. "Soooo… let's train together…. No?"

"I'm cool with it," I replied, nodding.

"Yes! Thanks, Misaki!" she yelled, a grin on her face. "That thing… y'know, that time? I mean the Shadow that came out of me. I feel pathetic knowing that's another 'me.' Makes me feel like I gotta work harder! Alllllright, let's do it! Between you and me, we'll be unstoppable!"

"Yeah!" I shouted, laughing. She paused for a second.

"Hey! Tomoe learned Rebellion, Misaki!" she exclaimed. "Anyway, let's start today with frog leaps! C'mon! You try some!"

"Uh…" I said as she knelt down. We trained until the sun went down.

**(Evening)**

I grabbed my fishing pole from my room and headed out into the rain.

I used a bread crumb as my bait and cast the line (is that how you say it?). Watching the water, I readjusted my hand placement on the fishing pole. Suddenly, the bobber sank. Feeling a tug, I began to pull the fishing pole back. After a few minutes of tug-of-war with the fish, I reeled it in. I brought the wet fish out of the water. It was a Red Goldfish.

I fished a few more times, using the Tatsuhime Ladybug the boy gave me, and caught a few Genji Ayus and Amber Seemas before heading home.

* * *

**Wednesday, 4/27 (Early Morning)**

I grabbed my iPod, looking at the rain beating against my window. Sighing, I grabbed my umbrella and headed out.

**(After School)**

I walked past a girl, and she stopped me.

"Can I ask you to do something for me?" she asked.

"What?" I inquired, turning down my music volume.

"Well, what I want you to do is…" she began. "Do you know that guy from our class who always goes up to the roof? I want you to go see what he's up to." I raised an eyebrow quizzically. "No! Th-that's not what I meant!" she exclaimed. "I, uh… I just wonder what he does up there, that's all. I'm just asking you about it."

"Okay," I answered.

"Thank you!" she squealed. "I owe you one!"

After that, I decided to go fishing. So I stopped by the house to get my fishing rod, and went out.

I caught a few Amber Seemas and Genji Ayus before running out of bait.

**(Evening)**

I plopped onto the couch and opened "Expert Study Methods." The book contained tips on how to concentrate during class and take notes effectively.

I read the book as the rain spattered against the window. I sighed, leaning against the back of the sofa. The sounds of the rain are so soothing….

* * *

**Thursday, 4/28 (Early Morning)**

"Morning!" Chie called as she jogged to me. I gave her a polite nod.

"Hey hey! Yukiko told me that she'll be able to come to school again in two days!" Chie exclaimed happily. "Oh man, I'm glad. I'm so happy!"

"It's thanks to you, Chie," I said.

"C'mon," she protested, "you know it's because all three of us did our best." Her face grew a little pink. "Actually…" she muttered, "more like the three of us and one animal-thingy?" I burst out laughing.

"Yeah!" I said. "You're absolutely right! Although I think I'd call him a bear."

**(After School)**

I wanted to hang out with Ayane today, but I realized that I didn't have a Sun Persona. So, I stopped by the Velvet Room and got Phoenix. Then, I stopped by the house to get my violin and went back to school.

The captain seated me near the front next to a violinist.

"Uh, Captain?" I called. "Am I first or second violin*?"

"You can be first violin," he answered quickly. "Now, from the top!"

We played through part of the song before he stopped us.

"Cut, cut, cut!" he yelled. "The trombone is flat. Is that you again, Ayane?"

_He singled her out?_ I thought._ That's mean._

"I-I'm sorry!" she cried.

"Alright," the captain said. "Let's see what we can do about the tempo in that second movement…."

We continued to play. The captain stopped us from time to time, either to tell Ayane that she sucked (in a subtle way), or to tell us that we needed to improve something.

About thirty minutes later, everyone packed up and left.

"You must be tired, Senpai," Ayane said. "You have such great tone! I guess you weren't kidding when you said you'd played before."

"It's not that good," I replied.

"Oh, sorry," she said. "I know that doesn't mean much coming from someone like me. I was sticking out again today… I wish I had as much talent as you."

"You _do_ have talent," I said defiantly.

"Huh? Y-you really think so? I guess I'll just have to keep at it, then…," she muttered, smiling. "Oh, but… we have another trombone player here. Takeru-senpai. He's really good, so he always gets picked for the performances. That's why I've never gone to one. But it doesn't matter…. I can't play in front of an audience anyway.

"I-I'm sorry," she muttered. "I shouldn't bother you with all this. I better get this place picked up so I can go home."

"Have some faith in yourself," I scolded lightly, picking up a piece of crumpled paper. I turned around and spotted a trash can. Positioning my hands as if I was holding a basketball, I aimed, and shot the paper. It flew in. "Yes!" I yelled, jumping around excitedly.

"Nice shot!" praised Ayane.

We continued to clean the room up, then parted ways and went home.

**(Evening)**

I sat down on the sofa and continued to read "Expert Study Methods." I tried not to fall asleep to the sound of the rain as I finished the chapter.

***In case you didn't know, in an orchestra, there are two parts for the violin: first violin and second violin. The first violins are usually the melody, and the second violins are usually the harmony, along with the cellos, violas, and basses.**

* * *

**A/N: Woo! Another chapter's out! I'm sorry if you think this one's kinda short (I mean... it's only about 800 words long).**

**Just so you know (in case you're wondering how I'm how I'm gonna write the chapters), I usually like to write 1,000 to 2,000-word chapters, give or take a few hundred.**

**It just depends on how long the day is. For example, if I'm writing something that's about the main story, I'm usually only going to write about that one day only because it usually has TONS of dialogue and other stuff happening. If it's just a regular day, I'll usually write two days. As you have noticed, Wednesday was a very short day, which was why I decided to add another day, just to make it a little longer.**

**I know this is useless info, but I just thought that you guys would like to know how I'm going to... "divide" the chapters up or something (dunno how to word it).**


	19. Yukiko Goes Into the TV Again

**Friday, 5/29 (Daytime)**

Today was Showa Day, so I had the day off from school. _Yes!_

I plopped onto my couch and finished reading "Expert Study Methods" as the rain pounded against the window.

**(Evening)**

I glanced out the window after finishing the book. Crap! It's dark! I rushed downstairs as Nanako called me.

The news was on.

"Due to the weekend rainfall, clear skies seem unlikely in the area," the announcer said. "A thick fog is expected to set in tonight and remain until tomorrow morning, with heaviest concentration in the Inaba area. Anyone planning to go out tonight should take care…."

"More fog, huh?" my uncle muttered. "There's been a lot of that lately. Hopefully it's not a sign of more trouble." Nanako changed the channel. "Ah-ah-ah," Dojima said. "What did I say about changing the channel without asking?"

"Have a great day even during Golden Week at your local Junes," the commercial lady announced. "Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes."

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako sang joyfully. "Dad! They're going to be open during Golden Week!"

"Haha, I heard. Do you want to go somewhere during the long holiday?" he asked.

"We can go somewhere!?" she exclaimed.

"How about it? Got any plans yet, Misaki?" he asked.

"Uh... not really," I answered.

"Then let's all go somewhere together!" Nanako yelled, jumping up and down. "Junes! Junes Junes Junes!"

"You're sure you want to go to Junes? We can go there anytime," Dojima said. "Come on, girl, time for bed. It's late."

"Alright…" she mumbled. "Every day's great at your Junes!"

_Man… she sure is excited about this,_ I thought. I grabbed a snack and headed upstairs.

I sat down on my sofa and kept my eyes on the T.V. as the rain pattered against the window. The screen lit up, but showed no one. I smiled, relieved.

* * *

**Saturday, 4/30 (Early Morning)**

I was about to walk through the school gates before I spotted Yukiko.

"Oh, hey!" I called as I jogged to her.

"O-oh… good morning," she replied.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

"Y-yeah… I'll be coming to school again, so that'll be nice," she answered. "I caused everyone some real trouble. I'm sorry. No, 'sorry' isn't quite right…. What I mean to say is, thank you." She smiled at me. "My mother's back to work already. The maids are being really supportive and I think things are going even smoother than before."

"That's good," I said.

"I wonder if I was trying too hard…" she muttered. "I may have been too caught up in the idea that I had to do everything myself. Ever since the incident…I feel like I can think about these things more calmly. But… it's still kind of embarrassing. You guys saw everything…. Even the things I didn't want to admit."

"Don't worry about it!" I said, grinning widely.

"Thanks," she said.

"Yukiko!" Chie yelled, running to us.

"Oh, it's Chie!" Yukiko said. "Well, I'll talk to you later." She walked over to her best friend.

**(Morning)**

"Misaki-chan!" Mr. Yamada called. I stood up nervously. "What is the greatest canyon in the solar system?" I remembered reading about this in a book….

"…. Valles Marineris…?" I answered uncertainly.

"Wow, you really are from the city!" he exclaimed.

"W-what?" I said quietly. He said something as I sat down in my seat. I tried to make myself invisible as the other students looked at me.

**(After School)**

Chie, Yosuke, and I met on the roof of the school and waited for Yukiko. She came a few minutes later, holding two instant-noodle bowls.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she apologized. "The soba is yours, right Chie?" She handed a bowl to Chie.

"Thanks!" said Chie. "Oooh, that smells so gooood. These instant noodles are just the thing to help me through club…. How much longer do I have to wait on this?"

"It stills needs a few minutes," answered Yukiko as she sat down.

"So why're we here?" Chie muttered. "Oh yeah, we were going to ask Yukiko what happened."

"Yukiko-san, I hate to bring up stuff you'd rather not think about… but I need to ask you again," said Yosuke. I scrolled through my music list and chose "Deduction." "Did you recall anything about when you got kidnapped?" Yosuke continued. We all looked at her expectantly.

"No…" she muttered. "I thought I might remember something if I let it sit for a while, but as time passes, it only gets hazier.

"I think… the doorbell rang at the entrance… and someone called for me…." She shook her head. "But when I woke up after that, I was already in the castle. I'm sorry…."

"No need to apologize," Chie said. "But does this mean her visitor is the culprit!?"

"I don't know…. If it's true, then that's one daring criminal," Yosuke muttered. "What kind of killer would ring the doorbell? The police are probably looking for witnesses… but I don't think we can expect much from them. Heh, as if the culprit wore bright yellow clothes at the scene of the crime." I chuckled.

"I wonder why whoever it is would do stuff like this," said Chie.

"We won't know until we confront 'em ourselves," replied Yosuke. "But we can be sure of one thing. It's no coincidence that people keep ending up in that place. Someone on our side is definitely kidnapping them and throwing them into the T.V. It's murder, all right….

"Oh yeah, we never told you," he suddenly said. "Misaki and me are gonna catch the culprit ourselves! The police are out of their league on this case, but we got our Personas."

"Could you lend us a hand?" I asked.

"Huh? Um…" Yukiko mumbled.

"I'm helping out, too!" Chie yelled, raising her hand. "I can't believe someone would throw people into a place like that. I'm gonna sock whoever's doing this."

"Me too," I said. "Right in the nuts!" I punched the air.

"Chie…" Yukiko murmured. Chie, Yosuke, and I glanced at each other. It's gonna be a while before she makes up her mind. So, we decided to chat a little.

The conversation went from how to catch the culprit, to how to teach that guy a lesson, to food.

"Let me help too," Yukiko said out of nowhere. "I want to know why this is happening. Especially if someone hates me so much they want to kill me. I don't want to run away from myself anymore."

"Alright! Then let's work together and catch this a**hole!" Yosuke exclaimed.

"Agreed," Yukiko said.

"Welcome to the Investigation Team!" I laughed.

"That's our name now?" Chie asked. I shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" I replied. We all laughed.

"But how're we going to find them?" Chie asked. "We don't have a single lead yet."

"We'll find a way," I said.

"I'm the third one to be targeted so far… but I have a feeling this isn't the end of it," Yukiko said. I nodded in agreement. "If we had an idea of who might be targeted next, wouldn't we have an advantage over the killer?" she continued.

"So we'll outsmart them, huh?" mused Yosuke. "Yeah… that might work. Okay, so let's see if we can figure out what ties the victims together. First, there was that announcer, Mayumi Yamano. Second was Saki Konishi… Senpai…." His face clouded. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Third was Yukiko Amagi," he said. "What do they all have in common?"

"Well… they're all girls," I suggested.

"Bingo," Yosuke replied.

"How dare he target females!?" Chie yelled. "Now that's unforgivable! The culprit's gotta be some kinda pervert."

"Also, what about this? The second and third victims had some sort of connection to the first one," Yosuke said.

"Hey, that's right," agreed Chie. "Yukiko and Saki-senpai both had connections to that announcer."

"That's true," Yukiko said. "Then… does that mean females connected in some way to Mr. Yamano's case are being targeted?"

"I think that's a safe assumption for now," Yosuke said. "There's another angle we can take, too. If another person disappears…."

"They'd be on the Midnight Channel," I finished.

"That happened right before Yukiko was kidnapped too," Chie said.

"Yeah, it's hard to tell who at first, but what's important is, it's happened before the victims disappeared," Yosuke murmured. "Kinda like a ransom note. We still don't know why that happens, but we'll have to rely on it for now."

"The next time it rains…" Yukiko muttered. We nodded in agreement. The Midnight Channel's the only thing we've got to predict who's next.

"By the way, aren't those done by now?" Yosuke asked.

"Whoa, that's right!" Chie exclaimed. "Chow time!" They peeled off the cover of their instant noodles and dived in.

"Hey, could I try just a little bit of that!?" Yosuke pleaded. "Just on tiny bite!?

"Hands off the soba, pal!" Chie said. "Go get your own in if you want some!" Yosuke tried making that sad puppy face, and Chie growled. "Okay, just one bite, got it?" She handed him the instant noodles.

"Do you want to try some?" Yukiko asked me.

"N-no thanks," I refused as the aroma reached me. I tried not to drool.

"It's sooo gooood…. The aroma, the flavor, and the texture all combined…. This is perfect!" Yosuke yelled exuberantly. He ate faster.

"What the hell are you doing!?" she screamed. Yosuke quickly gave the bowl back to Chie. "You ate everything…" she said dejectedly.

"It's all right, Chie," Yukiko consoled. "Here, have some of mine." Chie shot a death glare at Yosuke.

"I hope you understand what this means," she raged.

"W-wait wait wait! Stop! I'm sorry!" he yelled, backing up. "I-I'll buy you steak! It'll be on me!" I sighed inwardly, glad that I didn't try the instant noodles. "Y-you hear me? The very best!" I found myself laughing, and tried to stifle it.

"Steak…!?" Chie repeated. I couldn't hold it in. I burst out laughing. Everyone looked at me oddly, but I didn't care. I leaned on Yosuke, trying to stay upright.

"H-hey, Misaki…" he muttered.

"Oh, god…" I said, trying to stop laughing. I failed, and laughed some more.

"Man… she's almost as bad as Yukiko…" Chie muttered.

"Man, talk about great timing. We just started serving grilled steak today," Yosuke said. They tried to calm me down without success. In the end, they simply dragged me to Junes.

We sat down with at a table, Chie and Yukiko with steaks in their hands, and a soda in mine.

"We're doing our part to spread this town's specialty dish. Plus, we've already got an excellent grill," Yosuke continued.

"That's just a yakisoba griddle. Oh well, steak is steak," Chie sighed. "It's far from a filet steak, though.

"So back on topic. I wonder what kind of person the culprit is."

"If you focus just on the announcer's case, it seems like a revenge thing. Maybe it was her lover's wife," Yosuke said.

"But Misuzu Hiiragi had a sold alibi, didn't she? And it seemed like she was already separated from her husband," Chie countered.

"Really? You know an awful lot about this," he said. "Okay, what about the second case? Saki-senpai… she found the announcer's body. Assuming the same person killed them both, then why target Senpai?"

"Maybe it was to shut her up," I suggested, sipping my drink.

"Yeah, I think so too," Yosuke replied. "Maybe she found a clue or something about the culprit."

"But the killer just threw the announcer into a T.V., right?" Yukiko asked. "I don't think he would've left evidence the police—much less a high school student—would catch."

"Yeah, exactly," agreed Yosuke.

"Man, I thought the countryside would be a snooze, but it's proving to be a lot more exciting than I thought," a voice said. I glanced up and saw Adachi. "Ooh, they updated the menu!"

"Huh? Isn't he that detective?" Chie asked. Adachi turned around and spotted us.

"Hey, you were at Dojima san's," he said. He chuckled. "Hey, this is great timing, after all. Dojima-san that he'll be leaving work on schedule tonight. Could you pass that on to Nanako-chan?" I nodded. He turned to my friends. "Yo! I'm Adachi, Dojima-san's gofer…. Err, I mean, his partner."

"Are you this busy every day?" inquired Yosuke.

"Huh? Oh, well, the public seems to be getting a charge out of these cases, but we can't leave it at that," Adachi said.

"Sorry, to butt in, but could it be that the killer targeted Saki-senpai in order to silence her?" Chie asked quietly.

"U-umm, you sure get to the heart of the matter. Yikes… haha…" Adachi muttered. "Of course, we're also thinking along those lines. She was killed right after the announcer's body was found. If they killer was trying to silence her, there might've been something at the scene only she would have understood. Which would mean that the culprit may be someone close to Ms. Konishi. Nothing like that points to Misuzu Hiiragi, so…. Oh! I might have stumbled across something here. W-wait, were you listening to all that!? Crap! Me and my big mouth…. D-don't tell anyone I said any of that, or Dojima-san will flay me alive." He cleared his throat, and announced in a deeper voice, "Relax, kids, the police are on the job. See ya!" He walked away as Chie sighed.

"You were right, Yosuke," she muttered. "The police are totally useless. Ah! My steak's getting cold!"

"Could you shut up about the steak for five seconds?" exclaimed Yosuke.

"Steak's everything to her," I joked.

We waited until she finished eating before heading inside the T.V.

"Wow…. This really is inside the T.V.," Yukiko murmured, looking around. Teddie walked up to us.

"Hey," I greeted, waving.

"It's Teddie…. Then it wasn't a dream," she said.

"Are you feeling better, Yuki-chan?" Teddie asked. "I did what you said! I've been a good bear!"

"Oh, I see. Good boy!" she praised.

"W-well, this bear's part of the reason we want to find the culprit," explained Yosuke.

"I'm one of the group now too. Let's work together, okay?" Yukiko said.

"Yep! I was thinking the same thing!" Teddie agreed. "That's why I got _these_ ready for you, Yuki-chan!" He handed her red glasses, and she put them on.

"Ooh, so these are what everyone's wearing. Thank you, Teddie," she said, and glanced around. "You're right! It's just as if the fog doesn't exist!"

"Hey, tell me something. How come you have so many pairs of glasses?" questioned Chie.

"Excellent question! Guess what?_ I'm_ the one who makes them!" Teddie answered proudly. "I've lived here for a long time, so I came up with some ways to be comfortable here."

"I see. But don't you need a pair?" Yukiko asked.

"Oooh, good point. Another great question. Listen to this! My eyes themselves are lenses!" he exclaimed. "You didn't know?"

"Of course not…" Yosuke muttered.

"W-why are you being so mean!? You act like you're not interested!" Teddie cried. "I'm a really dexterous bear! See how smoothly my fingers move?" He moved his fingers around in front of Yosuke's face.

"What am I even looking at!?" Yosuke said. He pushed Teddie away.

"Hm? You dropped something," Yukiko said, picking up the dropped object.

"Oh, that's a pair I kinda screwed up on," Teddie explained.

"Ooooh," Yukiko said, amused. She put them on.

"Y-Yukiko?" Chie said. She was wearing some silly glasses. It was round and had a nose and mustache.

"Ahaha, how do I look?" Yukiko asked. I burst out laughing.

"You look absolutely great!" I cried, holding my stomach. "It's perfect!" She laughed, too.

"Do you like that one, Yuki-chan?" Teddie asked. She nodded.

"I want to wear this one. It's even got a nose guard!" she answered. I laughed even harder.

"Yeah!" I agreed. I leaned against Chie, laughing so hard that tears fell down my eyes.

"Ohhh no you don't!" cried Chie.

"How bear-y unfortunate…. That pair doesn't have the right lenses in," Teddie muttered. "Guess I should've made an actual pair."

"Aww, too bad," Yukiko said. "Here, Chie. Your turn!" She handed Chie the glasses. Chie sighed.

"Man…" she mumbled. Yukiko gave her the puppy look, and she gave in. She put on the glasses just as I was calming down. One look at her face was enough. I broke down once more, and Yukiko joined in.

"How'd it come to this...?" Chie muttered.

"Y-Yukiko-san? Hellooo?" Yosuke called.

"There goes one of Yukiko's laughing fits…. I never thought she'd do it when someone besides me was around…. And apparently, Misaki has a laughing fit, too." She scowled at us, yelling, "These stupid glasses are useless for investigating! I mean, what the hell's this nose for, anyway!?"

"Nice work, huh? That's what happens when you guys leave me here alone, and I get bored!" Teddie cried.

"Cheer up, Chie," I laughed, punching her shoulder. "We've gotta have a laugh sometime, right?"

"I think you laugh too much…" she mumbled.

"W-well, I'm glad that she's in high spirits again… I guess…" Yosuke said uncertainly.

"Oh Chie… the look on your face…. It was so funny!" Yukiko said, holding her sides in laughter. "I-I can't stop… laugh—Ohhh, my stomach!" I finally stopped laughing for a minute, but I accidently looked at Chie again, and I lost it. The others had to drag us out of the T.V. because we were laughing too hard.

**(Evening)**

"The 4th and the 5th…" murmured Dojima. We had just finished dinner. "I think I might be able to get the 4th and 5th off."

"Really!?" cried Nanako. Then she looked doubtful and sad. "…Really…?"

"What, you don't believe me?" Dojima asked.

"It's always canceled," Nanako muttered.

"N-not every year!" Dojima cried. "I know you wanted to go to Junes, but… I wouldn't mind going a little further out of the neighborhood."

"Really!? Can we go on a trip?" she asked.

"Uh…. Well, it might be okay to go on a trip once in a while," he said. "I'm sure it'll be crowded everywhere, though."

"Yay! We're going on a trip!" Nanako exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"All right, all right. Then we need to think of someplace to go," he murmured. "How about you, Misaki? You wanna come along with us?"

"Hel—uh… HECK YEAH*," I almost screamed, pumping my fist in the air.

"Yeah! Let's all to go together!" Nanako exclaimed.

"Looks like Nanako wants us all to go," Dojima chuckled.

"Let's bring boxed lunches!" she suggested.

"Yeah, good idea. We're always eating side dishes for dinner," Dojima explained. "And Nanako's not good enough yet to make them herself…. Hmm…. Well it'll work out. That's why we've got this girl for, huh Nanako?" He thumped my back.

"Yaaay! Boxed lunches!" she said excitedly.

"Huh? I'm cooking?" I asked bluntly. They nodded._ Oh god… I hope I don't f*** it up._

I went to my room and picked up a random book. "The Lovely Man." _Eh. I'll read it._

The very first chapter began: "All men have the great spirit of masculinity within themselves." Immediately, I knew I picked up the wrong book. This was a guy's book._ Eh whatever._

I read the first few chapters. It made me feel like a real man.

***Misaki realized that the word, "hell" was not appropriate for children, so she changed it into "heck."**

* * *

**A/N: This was a looong chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! ^_^**


	20. Hangin' Out with Marie

**Sunday, 5/1 (Daytime)**

My phone rang. I groggily sat up on my futon and picked up the phone.

"Hello…?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"Oh, hello? It's me, Chie. Do you have time to go inside the T.V. today?" the person asked. "Now that Yukiko's with us, I think it might be good for her to get some experience being in that place. Just give us a call if you want to go. See ya!" She hung up.

Groaning, I got up and did my morning routine, then went outside.

I decided to hang out with Marie today.

Unfortunately, I didn't have an Aeon Persona, so I fused one quickly.

"Hey, I wanna go somewhere," Marie said as I was about to leave the Velvet Room. "Take me out."

"Uh… okay," I answered.

"Let's go, then," she said, walking out. I trailed behind her, giving a small wave to Igor and Margaret.

"I wanna go to a lively place today," Marie said. "I want to go to 'Joo-nes.' I heard about that place."

"Uh… okay," I replied, leading her to Junes. After a few minutes, she took the lead, running around like a little kid.

We went into the electronics department, in front of the T.V. we use to enter the other world.

"Hey, what happened just now? 'Time sale'…?" Marie asked. "Everyone was rushing to grab something called 'sallah drezzing'? Whatever it is, it must be worth fighting for."

"Uh… maybe…." I replied. Chie appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey, Misaki-chan!" she greeted. "What a coincidence! What're you doin' here?" She stared at Marie. "Who's this girl? She's so cute."

"She's Marie," I answered, bowing very slightly and gesturing towards her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Marie muttered awkwardly.

"Marie-chan, huh? Ooh, that's a nice name…" Chie mused. "Oh, I'm Chie Satonaka. Nice to meet you!"

"…Okay…" Marie muttered. She glanced around awkwardly, and spun around, facing a T.V. "I know what this is," she cried. "It shows a lot of stuff."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Oh, you came to look at the T.V.s, too?" Chie inquired. I stared at her. Did she not notice that Marie seemed like she didn't know what a… "thing that shows lots of stuff" was called a T.V.? "Yeah, I want one too," she was saying. "We still haven't replaced our old one."

"I-I don't want one!" Marie snapped. "I don't, but…. Maybe…. Can you turn it to 'StarScandalz?" Her face lit up. I smirked playfully.

"So you _do_ want one," I said, poking her shoulder.

"N-no I don't! I just… was wondering how you're supposed to watch it," she explained unconvincingly.

"Uh huh…" I said, putting my hand on my chin.

"So… how do you watch it?" she asked. I explained how to use a T.V. poorly (I was not good at explaining things) as she faced the T.V.

"Huh!? Are you one of those people who doesn't watch T.V.!?" Chie cried.

"There isn't one in the room," Marie answered.

"Really!? Wow…. You must have super-strict parents," Chie said. "Girl, I don't think I could stand it. Life without kung fu movies…. Brr!" She shivered.

"But there's no 'eclectic loutwits' in that room," Marie explained._ Oh dear god…._ "I'll tell The Nose to install one of those 'electic loutwits.' There's nothing to do in there!" Marie yelled.

Stifling a laugh, I said, "You sure it would fit in there?" She nodded with conviction, and walked off.

"Hey, wait, Marie-chan?!" Chie called. "You don't even have electricity in your room!?"

"Odd, isn't it…?" I muttered before chasing down Marie with Chie at my heels.

After we caught up to Marie, we decided to get some food, so we all got some steak. Well… Marie and I got one and Chie got two.

We sat down and dug in. Before I was half way with my steak, Chie was already done with her first one._ Daaaang, that girl eats fast!_

Marie nibbled on her steak, seemingly trying to figure out if she likes it or not.

Chie finished her second steak.

"Whew, that was the good stuff. Satisfaction!" she sighed. "I haven't had steak here in a while, but it really isn't all that bad. Marie-chan, you haven't eaten at all. You gotta eat if you want to grow up big and strong. Just kidding, haha!"

"You eat too fast," Marie stated. "You're gonna be fat one day."

"I didn't need to hear that!" Chie cried with a pained look on her face. "Uh… I'll go get us some drinks! O-oolong tea sounds good." She jumped up and ran off.

"There's a lot of people at this 'Joo-nes' place. Why? Don't they have anything else to do?" Marie questioned. "If they have T.V.s, they should be watching them instead of wasting time here."

"Actually, most of them do," I replied. "But sometimes, people just want to walk around, or go buy some food." We chatted for a bit (well, mostly her asking questions and me answering them).

"Mommy, I'm thirsty! I wanna soda!" a kid yelled.

"No. You just had one. You'll have to wait," the mother ordered.

"I wannit, I wannit!" the kid persisted.

"I said no. You'll rot your teeth," the mother said, walking away. The kid hurried after her. Marie studied them.

"Hey…. Do you think I was ever like that?" she asked.

"If you're a regular person, then yeah," I answered.

"I see…." She looked depressed all of a sudden. "I don't remember anything. I was just walking…. I had nowhere to go, and I just ended up in that car. Then Margaret told me to stay there. She also gave me the name 'Marie'…. It'd be hard to get around without a name."

"That must be tough," I said.

"I don't know. I can't even remember if it was tough," she muttered. "That's okay…. It's not like it's troubling me or anything."

"Psh, yeah," I scoffed. "You're_ totally_ not troubled about it." She glared at me, then looked down dejectedly at the table.

"But… I don't know why, but this town is familiar to me…" she said.

"Hmm…. Do you remember anything else?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I don't know. The only thing I remember—or more like 'know'—is that this is mine." She got something out of her bag and showed it to me. It was an old bamboo comb. "I had this from the start…. This is definitely mine," she said. "But… so what? This doesn't help anything." She put it away. "You're searching for the 'truth,' right? You should stop. There's no such thing."

"What!?" I yelled. "Stop lying! Of course there's a truth! You just have to look for it!" We had an unplanned, unannounced staring contest.

"This conversation's boring," Marie said, looking away. "Let's talk about something else."

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Chie panted. "The shop was busy so I just ordered and came back here. They'll bring it to us when it's ready." She glanced at us. "Is it me, or is the mood a bit heavy around here? D-don't worry, you two! I ordered for all of us! Oolong tea for everybody!"

"Calm down, Chie," I said. "We're not worried about that."

"… Oh."

After we chatted for a bit, drinking our tea, I escorted Marie back to the Velvet Room, and went back home.

**(Evening)**

I grabbed a snack and went to my room. I picked up "The Lovely Man" (why not, right? Might as well read it all the way through) and plopped onto the sofa. After finishing the book, I finished my snack and went to bed.

* * *

**A/N: I spotted a mistake on the last chapter... Why didn't you guys tell me about it!? T_T**

**Anyway, it's just one long day today! ^_^'**

**(And please tell me if there are any mistakes that I missed.)**

**By the way, check out "A-Tech on Titan" by Spinach Skittle! It's real good! ^_^ It's my favorite AOT fanfic so far!**


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